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MACMILLAN   FRENCH   SERIES 


AID    TO    FRENCH 
PRONUNCIATION 


MACMILLAN    FRENCH   SERIES 

CONTES  DU   PAYS  DE  MERLIN      .      .  Fan  Buren 

SCENES  OF  FAMILIAR  LIFE       .     .     .  Frazer 

ABOUT'S   LE   ROI   DES   MONTAGNES  mhon 

M£RIM£E'S  COLOMBA Franfois 

LABICHE'S    LA    POUDRE   AUX    YEUX  Lebon 

DAUDET'S  CONTES  CHOISIS     .     .     .  Head 

FRENCH    CONVERSATION    AND 

COMPOSITION IVann 

AID   TO    FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION  Tiiiy 

A  FIRST  FRENCH  COURSE    ....  Roux 

FRENCH       COMMERCIAL       CORRE- 
SPONDENCE    Fish 

MARRAINE  DE  GUERRE MUheltt 

EXERCICES  FRAN9AIS  Oeaux  bt  Ecrits  : 

C0UR8  PrIparatoire' 

Premiere  Partie  Pargment 

DeuxiIme  Partie 

HfiMON'S    MARIA    CHAPDELAINE      .  Thieme 

LA    FRANCE    ET    LES    FRAN9AIS  .      .  Pargment 

JASINSKPS   CONTES  DE  LA  VIEILLE 

FRANCE Pargment 


AID    TO    FRENCH 
PRONUNCIATION 

WITH  NUMEROUS  DRAWINGS  AND 
EXERCISES 

FOR  USE  IN  SCHOOLS 
AND  COLLEGES 


BY 

EDMUND  TILLEY 

PROFESSOR  OF  PHONETICS 
ROBERT  COLLEGE,  CONSTANTINOPLE 


THE  MACMILLAN   COMPANY 


MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LIMITED 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA  •  MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  LTD. 

TORONTO 


1929 


^9903-/ 


ComucHT,  19*0, 
Br  EDMUND  TILLEY. 


•PRINTED   IN  THB   UNITBD  STATKS  OF  AMBKICA* 


573 


PREFACE 

This  book  is  intended  as  an  auxiliary  in  any  French 
course  in  schools  and  colleges.  It  aims  to  help  the 
student  to  acquire  a  more  accurate  pronunciation. 
There  already  exist  a  number  of  excellent  books  on 
French  pronunciation,  most  of  which  however  are 
intended  for  advanced  students  and  emphasize  the 
theory.  On  the  other  hand  the  few  lines  devoted  to 
pronunciation  in  most  French  grammars  are  entirely 
inadequate. 

The  author  has  sought  to  state  only  the  essential 
differences  between  English  and  French  pronunciation. 
Wherever  a  French  and  an  English  sound  are  alike 
exercises  have  been  limited  to  a  minimum  or  omitted 
altogether.  In  some  cases  preciseness  had  to  be 
sacrificed  to  clearness  in  order  to  avoid  detailed  tech- 
nicalities. The  drawings  are  not  intended  to  be  scien- 
tifically correct  in  all  particulars  but  to  show  as  clearly 
as  possible  the  essential  parts  of  the  speech  organs. 

Phonetic  symbols  are  used,  as  French  sounds  cannot 
be  represented  accurately  with  the  ordinary  alphabet. 
The  great  advantage  of  the  phonetic  symbols  is  that 
each  symbol  stands  only  for  one  sound  and  always  for 
the  same  sound,  whereas  one  letter  or  a  combination  of 
letters  may  indicate  four  or  even  five  different  sounds. 

550v 


Vi  PREFACE 

The  phonetic  alphabet  of  the  Association  Phon^tique 
Internationale  was  chosen  because  it  is  the  only  one 
which  is  in  common  use  in  more  than  one  country. 

Where  several  pronunciations  exist  for  the  same 
word  the  most  common  one  was  adopted.  As  authority 
in  most  cases  was  taken  Michaelis-Passy's  "  Diction- 
naire  phon^tique  de  la  langue  franqaise." 

I  owe  recognition  especially  to  my  father,  William 
Tilly.  Many  of  the  ideas  and  methods  which  are 
used  in  this  book  I  gained  from  his  personal  instruc- 
tion. I  am  also  greatly  indebted  to  the  works  of 
Paul  Passy,  above  all  to  his  **  Sons  du  franqais/'  to 
Michaelis-Passy's  "  Dictionnaire  phon^tique  de  la 
langue  franqaise/'  to  J.  Passy  and  A.  Rambeau's 
"  Chrestomathie  f ran^aise  "  and  to  W.  Victor's  "  KJeine 

Phonetik." 

Edmund  Tillet. 

SCHSNBCTADY,  NbW   YoRK, 

February,  1920. 


A  BRIEF  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

P.   Passy,  Les  sons  du  frangais.     Paris,  H.  Didier. 

P.  Passy  and  G.  Hempl,  International  French-English  and 

English- French   Dictionary.     Edited  by  R.   M.   Pierce. 

New  York,  Hinds,  Noble  &  Eldredge. 
H.  Michaelis  et  P.  Passy,   Dictionnaire   phon^tique  de   la 

langue  frangaise.     Hannover  and  Berlin,  Carl  Meyer. 
F.  Beyer  et  Paul  Passy,  Elementarbuch  des  Gesprochenen 

Franzosisch.     Kothen,  O.  Schulze. 
J.  Passy  et  A.  Rambeau,  Chrestomathie  Fran9aise.     Leipzig, 

Teubner. 
W.  Ripman,  The  Sounds  of  Spoken  English.     London,  Dent 

&  Sons. 
D.  Jones,  An  English  Pronouncing  Dictionary.      London, 

Dent  &  Sons. 
D.  Jones,  The  Pronunciation  of  English.     Cambridge  Uni- 
versity Press. 
C.  H.  Grandgent,  German  and  English  Sounds.     Boston, 

Ginn  &  Co. 
W.  Vietor,  Elemente  der  Phonetik.     Leipzig,  O.  R.  Reisland. 
W.  Vietor,  Kleine  Phonetik.     Leipzig,  O.  R.  Reisland. 
H.   Sweet,   The   Sounds   of    English.      Oxford   University 

Press. 
B.    Dumville,    Elements   of    French  Pronunciation.     New 

York,  Dutton  &  Co. 

L'Abb^   Rousselot  et  F.  Laclotte,  Precis  de  prononciation 

fran9aise.     Paris  and  Leipzig,  H.  Welter. 
F.  Franke,  Phrases  de  tons  les  jours.   Leipzig,  O.  R.  Reisland, 

vii 


CONTENTS 

PAOM 

Introduction 

§§  1-7    Advice  to  the  student      ....  1-3 

§  8    List  of  French  phonetic  symbols  used  in 

this  book 4-5 

§  9    The  organs  of  speech        ....  6 
§§  10-15    Functions  of  the  organs  of  speech    .        .            7-9 
§16    The  French  sound  chart  (with  explana- 
tions)            10-12 

§§  17-27     Sounds  and  the  corresponding  letters       .        13-17 
§28    French  and  English   sounds  which  are 

alike 18 

§29  French  and  English  sounds  which  seem 
alike  to  the  beginner  but  are  not  iden- 
tical         19 

PART  I.     DETAILED   DESCRIPTION   OF   ALL 
FRENCH   SOUNDS 

With  Numerous  Drawings  and  Exercises  for 
Oral  Practice 

§§30-61     Consonants 20-34 

§§31-37    Plosives  (p,  b;  t,  d;  k,  g)        .        .        ,  20-22 

§§38-41     Nasals  (rji,  m ;  n ;  ji)        ....  23-25 

§§42-51     Fricatives  (f,  v;  8,  z;  J, 's;  j;  ii;  w;  h)  25-28 

§§52-54    Laterals  (J,  0 29-30 

§§55-61     ''Rolled "'or  ''Trilled"  r  (r,  r;  r,  b)     .  31-34 

§§62-84    Vowels 35-63 

§63    Position  of  Ups  for  all  French  vowels       .  36-37 

§  65    The  three  fundamental  vowels  (i — a — u)  38-39 

§§66-68    The  unrounded  front  vowels  (i—e— 8)      .  40-43 
ix 


CONTENTS 


|{  09-72  The  rounded  front  vowels  (y — ^ — ce) 

§§7d-76  The  rounded  back  voweb  (u — o — o) 

§§7ft-78  The  two  o-sounds  (a— a)      . 

§79  The  "weak  c'*  sound  (a)     . 

§§80-84  The  four  nasal  vowels  (g    a    tt— 3) 


6(M» 

6^-67 
67-63 


PART  U.     HOW  TO  USE  FRENCH  SOUNDS 
IN  CONNECTED  SPEECH 

Obicbral  Rdlbs 

§§86-^    Stress  (Accent) 64-67 

§§87-89    Liaison 67-70 

§§90-92    Elision 71-73 

§§93-96    Length  of  Sounds          ....  73-76 

§96    Syllables 7&-76 

§97    Intonation 76 

§§98-99    Final  Consonants          ....  76-77 
§§  100-126    Pronunciatiox  or  Lbttbbs  of  thb  Al- 

PHABBT,         LbTTBR        COMBINATIONS, 

pRBnxBS,  ANi>  Endinos  .  78-94 

§127    Pronunciatioii  op  Numbrals         ...  96 

§128      PRONUNCIATIOlff    OF   THB    AlPHABBT  96 

§129    Pronunciation  of  tub  Days  of  thb  Wbbk  96 

§130    Pronunciation  of  tub  Months     ...  96 


PART  m.     PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTIONS 
FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE 

§131     Notes  on  thb  Phonbtic  Transcriptions  97 

§§182-144    Prosb 98-133 

§§132-137     Vert  Slow  and  Carbfdl  Pronumcia- 

TION 98-111 

§  132    La  salle  de  classe 98-101 

§  133    Maximes,  La  Rochefoucauld        .        .  102-103 
§  134    La  France  and  L'tle-de-France,  Ches- 
terfield         104-106 


CONTENTS 


XI 


§136    Letabac 

§  136    La  Fontaine,  G.  Bruno 

§137    Premieres  Etudes,  Chateaubriand 

§§138-142    Pronunciation  in  Ordinary  Reading 
§  138    Raison  et  poumons 
§  139    Une  repartie 
§  140    Le  violon 
§141    Roland. 
§  142    Le  singe,  F^nelon 

§§143-144    Rapid  Conversational  Pronunciation 

§  143    En  classe 

§  144    La  Grammaire,  Labiche 

§§145-149    Poetry 

Very  Slow  and  Careful  Style 

§  146    Le  petit  mari         .... 

§  146    La  m^re  Michel    .... 

§  147     Le  corbeau  et  le  renard.  La  Fontaine 

§  148    Apr6s  la  bataille,  Victor  Hugo      . 

§  149    La  Marseillaise,  Rouget  de  L'Isle 


PAOXB 

104-107 
106-109 
108-111 

112-123 
112-113 
112-113 
112-117 
116-119 
118-123 

124-133 
124-127 
126-133 


134-141 
134-136 
136-137 
136-139 
138-141 
140-141 


INTRODUCTION 

ADVICE   TO   THE   STUDENT 

§  1.  How  to  use  introduction.  Eead  introduction 
once  in  order  to  acquaint  yourself  with  the  organs  of 
speech  and  sounds  in  general.  Later  use  the  intro- 
duction for  reference.  §§  17-29  may  be  used  for  oral 
practice. 

§  2.  How  to  use  Part  I.  Begin  immediately  with 
Part  I  (Detailed  description  of  all  French  sounds),  pp. 
20-63.  Study  diagrams  and  drill  on  exercises  given 
under  diagrams.  The  only  way  to  learn  French  sounds 
is  to  practice  them  aloud.  Unless  the  exercises  are 
practiced  aloud,  they  are  valueless.  This  applies  also 
to  the  phonetic  transcriptions  on  pp.  98-141. 

§  3.  Drawings.  When  studying  the  drawings  ob- 
serve the  following  points  :  1.  Are  the  lips  "  rounded  " 
or  "  spread  "  ?  2.  Where  is  the  tongue  raised  highest, 
at  the  tip,  in  front  or  in  the  back?  3.  Is  the  soft 
palate  lowered,  so  that  the  air  can  pass  through  the 
nose  making  the  sound  nasal  ?  Or  is  the  soft  palate 
raised  and  the  sound  therefore  not  nasal  ? 

In  the  explanations  to  the  drawings  the  terms  "  The 
tongue  is  more  in  front  ^'  or  "  The  tongue  is  lower,'' 
etc.,  do  not  necessarily  mean  that  the  whole  tongue  is 
more  in  front  or  lower,  but  that  the  highest  point 
reached  by  the  tongue  is  more  in  front  or  lower. 

1 


2  INTRODUCTION 

§  4.  How  to  learn  sounds.  Do  not  try  to  learn  all 
sounds  at  once.  It  is  better  to  pronounce  a  few  sounds 
correctly  than  a  great  many  only  half  correctly.  Con- 
centrate for  several  days  at  a  time  on  one  or  two  sounds. 
Use  a  small  mirror  to  get  the  right  position  of  lips  and 
tongue  as  shown  in  the  drawings.  A  small  flashlight 
will  help  you  to  see  the  inside  of  your  mouth.  Drill 
thoroughly  on  exercises  which  have  been  carefully 
selected  for  that  purpose.  The  exercises  are  short  be- 
cause it  has  been  found  best  to  practice  a  sound  in 
a  few  carefully  selected  words  again  and  again  until 
the  sound  is  pronounced  correctly.  These  words  ought 
to  be  used  as  models  for  all  new  words. 

It  is  better  to  practice  sounds,  words,  or  sentences 
three  times  a  day  for  five  minutes  than  once  a  day  for 
fifteen  minutes.  Practice  sounds  as  often  as  possible, 
but  not  as  long  as  possible. 

Sounds  are  learned  best  by  exaggerating  them  in  the 
beginning.  Pronounce  them  therefore  more  energet- 
ically than  the  average  Frenchman  would.  Lengthen 
diiiicult  sounds  at  first  It  is  easier  to  hear  mistakes 
when  the  sounds  are  long  than  when  they  are  short. 

§  5.  Sounds  and  letters.  Sounds  are  not  letters. 
This  should  be  borne  in  mind  when  studying  the  book. 
All  symbols  in  italics  represent  sounds.^  In  most  lan- 
guages we  do  not  spell  as  we  pronounce,  especially  not 
in  English  and  French.     In  English  the  vowel  sound 

1  In  a  few  cases  roman  instead  of  italic  types  had  to  be  used 
In  this  book,  because  the  italic  types  which  could  be  obtained 
were  not  those  approved  by  the  Association  Phon^tique  Inter- 
nationale. 


ADVICE  TO  THE  STUDENT  3 

"  o  "  *  for  instance  may  be  spelled  o,  oh,  ow,  ew,  ough, 
oa,  eau,  oe  (so,  oh,  sow,  sew,  though,  boat,  beau,  foe).  On 
the  other  hand  one  combination  of  letters  (ough)  may 
be  pronounced  in  seven  different  ways  (trough,  tough, 
though,  through,  thought,  thorough,  bough).  Likewise 
in  French  one  sound  has  often  many  equivalents  in 
spelling.  The  sound  "  k ''  may  be  spelled  k,  c,  ch,  q, 
qu,  ck,  cqu  (kilometre,  comment,  Chretien,  coq,  quand, 
bifteck,  acquerir).  These  six  words  are  pronounced 
alike:  tan,  tant,  taon,  temps,  tend,  tends.  There  are 
also  a  great  many  cases  where  one  letter  is  pronounced 
in  many  different  ways,  such  as  e,  o,  c,  g.  In  phonetics, 
however,  a  sound  is  always  represented  by  the  same  symbol 
and  a  symbol  always  stands  for  the  same  sound. 

§  6.  How  to  use  Part  II.  Study  general  rules,  pp. 
64-77  and  the  rules  in  §  100  on  p.  78,  before  taking 
up  Part  III.  The  pronunciation  of  letters  of  the  al- 
phabet, etc.,  pp.  79-94,  is  intended  only  for  reference. 

§  7.  How  to  use  Part  III.  When  reading  the  pho- 
netic transcriptions  on  pp.  98-141  practice  sentences 
separately  in  the  beginning  and  repeat  each  sentence 
several  times  before  continuing.  Begin  with  the  very 
slow  and  careful  pronunciation,  §§  132-137  and  §§  145- 
149.     Always  read  aloud. 

1  For  the  sake  of  simplicity  called  a  vowel  sound  here,  hut  in 
reaUty  a  diphthong.     See  §  62,  p.  35,  and  §  74,  pp.  51-52. 


4  niTRODUCTIOW 

§8.   LIST   OF   FRENCH   PHONETIC   SYMBOLS 
USED    IN   THIS    BOOK 

a  in  la  (la,  \k).     See  §  25,  §§  76-77. 

a  in  to  (las).     See  §  25,   §  28,   §  66,  §  76,  §  78. 

a  in  ta  (tan,  taon,  temps,  tant,  tend[8]).     See  S  27, 

§  82,  §  84. 
6  in  63  (bon).     See  §  17,  §  28,  §  32. 
d  in  dy  (du).     See  §  17,  §  29,  §  33,  §  36. 
6  in  Je  (chez).     See  §  22,  §  29,  §  67. 
c  in  fcir  (cher,  ch^re,  chair,  chaire).     See  §  22,  §  28, 

§  68. 
e  in  8e  (saint,  sein,  sain,  seing,  ceint).    See  f  27,  §  80, 

§84. 
»  in  fo  Ge).     See  §  26,  §  29,  §  79,  §S  91-92. 
/  in/d'2;5  (faisons).     See  §  19,  §  28,  §  42. 
g  in  gra  (grand).     See  §  17,  §  28,  §  37. 
h  see  §  51. 

i    in  fi'zik  (physique).     See  §  22,  §  29,  §  65,  §  66. 
j    in  bje  (bien).     See  §  19,  §  28,  §  48. 
k  inkok  (coq).     See  §  17,  §  29,  §  36. 
I   in  III  (Lille).     See  §  20,  §  29,  §  52,  §  64. 
I   in  8iki  (cycle).     See  §  20,  §§  62-53. 
m  in  m5  (mon).     See  §  18,  §  28,  §  39. 
rji  in  asr^i  (asthme).     See  §  18,  §  38. 
n  in  n5  (non,  nom).     See  §  18,  §  29,  §  40. 
ji  in  siji  (signe,  cygne).     See  §  18,  §  41. 
o  in  ro^'zo  (roseau).     See  §  24,  §  29,  §  74. 
0   in  otomo'bil  (automobile).     See  §  24,  §  29,  §  76. 

5  in  65  (bon).     See  §  27,  §  83,  §  84. 

^   mk^  (queue).     See  §  23,  §  29,  §  69,  §  71. 
(B  in  koRir  (cceur).     See  §  23,  §  29,  §  69,  §  72. 


LIST  OF  PHONETIC   SYMBOLS  5 

6i  in  6s.^^  (humble).     See  §  27,  §  81,  §  84. 

J?  in  pa'pa  (papa).     See  §  17,  §  29,  §  31. 

r   in  ri\r  (rire).     See  §  21,  §  29,  §  55,  §  56,  §  58. 

r    in  ei^^  (etre).     See  §  21,  §  m,  §  m,  §  57. 

B  in  Ri\R  (rire).     See  §  21,  §  h^^  §  59,  §  61. 

R  in  z\tR  (etre).     See  §  21,  §  m,  §  59,  §  60. 

s    in  6'?s°(six).     See  §  19,  §  28,  §  44. 

J    in  Jer'Je  (chercher).     See  §  19,  §  28,  §  46. 

t    in  U\t  (tete).     See  §  17,  §  29,  §§  33-34. 

u  in  livHiu  (coucou).     See  §  24,  §  29,  §  ^h,  §  73. 

V  in  mi  (vous).     See  §  19,  §  28,  §  43. 

w  in  swa\r  (soir).     See  §  19,  §  28,  §  50. 

y  in  lysty^kry  (lustucru).     See  §  23,  §§  69-70. 

?/  in  ^^t  (huit).     See  §  19,  §  49. 

z  in  \o\z  (chose).     See  §  19,  §  28,  §  45. 

3  in  3a  (gens,  Jean).     See  §  19,  §  28,  §  47. 

I  sign  for  long  vowel ;  e.g.  p^\r  (pere).     See  §§  93-95. 

'  sign  for  half-long  vowel;    e.g.  d'[fa  (enfant).     See 

§§  93-95. 
'  sign  for  stress,  written  before  accented  syllable  ;  e.g. 

pyrifika'^sjo  (purification).     Accent  is  omitted  in 

disconnected  monosyllabic  words.     See  §§  85-86. 
'^  sign  over  vowel  indicates  that  vowel  is  nasal.     See 

§§  80-84,  §  100. 

Note,     Learn    to    distinguish   between   the  following 
phonetic  symbols : 

a— a  (§25,  §§76-78) 

e—e  (§  22,  §§  67-68) 

e—3  (§  22,  §  26,  §  67,  §  79,  §§  91-92) 

;^— 3  (§  19,  §  45,  §  47) 


INTRODUCTION 


§  9. 


THE   ORGANS   OF   SPEECH 


Vertical  Section  of  tub  Hbad,  Suowino  thb  Oroahs  of 
Speech  (Shaded  Portion  of  tux  Head) 


1.  Lips. 

2.  Teeth. 

3.  Upper  gnms. 

4.  Hard  palate. 

6.  Soft  palate  (velum). 

6.  Uvula  (end  of  velum). 

7.  Tip  of  tongue. 


8.  Blade  of  toDf^ie. 

9.  Front  of  tongue. 

10.  Back  of  tongue. 

11.  Epiglottis. 
12—12.  Larynx. 

13.  Two  vocal  cords  (only  one 
showing  in  diagram). 


THE   ORGANS   OF  SPEECH  7 

FUNCTIONS   OF   THE   ORGANS  OF   SPEECH 

§  10.  It  is  impossible  to  learn  sounds  accurately 
without  knowing  how  the  organs  of  speech  are  used 
to  form  sounds.  Study  your  lips  and  the  inside  of 
your  mouth  with  a  small  looking-glass. 

§  11.  Breath.  To  produce  speech  sounds  breath  is 
needed.  The  breath  is  pressed  by  the  diaphragm 
through  the  lungs  and  the  air  tube,  and  passes  through 
the  mouth  and  nose  where  it  causes  friction  in  certain 
places.  These  places  are  called  points  of  articulation. 
The  difference  in  the  sound  of  the  friction  depends  on 
whether  the  mouth  is  closed  or  how  wide  it  is  opened, 
whether  the  lips  are  "  rounded  "  or  "  spread,"  whether 
the  passage  to  the  nose  is  closed  or  open.  The  nar- 
rower the  passage,  the  stronger  will  be  the  friction. 

§  12.  Articulation  in  mouth.  The  blade  of  the 
tongue  usually  articulates  against  the  teeth  or  the 
upper  gums  ;  the  front  of  the  tongue  against  the  hard 
palate ;  the  back  of  the  tongue  against  the  soft  palate. 
In  other  words,  each  part  of  the  tongue  usually  is 
raised  towards  the  nearest  part  of  the  roof  of  the 
mouth  for  the  required  sound. 

§  13.  Nasal  articulation.  If  the  soft  palate  is  low- 
ered, the  air  can  pass  through  the  nose  as  well  as 
through  the  mouth.  If  the  soft  palate  is  raised  and 
pressed  back,  the  air  can  pass  only  through  the  mouth. 
For  most  sounds  the  passage  through  the  nose  is  closed. 

Practice  the  following  with  a  looking-glass :  Have 
the  mouth  wide  open.  Let  the  light  fall  well  on  the 
roof  of  the  mouth.  Pronounce  iirst  the  sound  a  (ah). 
The  soft  palate  is  pressed  against  the  back  wall  of  the 


8 


INTRODUCTION 


pharynx,  thereby  closing  the  passage  through  the  nose. 
Then  pronounce  the  "ng"  sound.  The  soft  palate 
comes  down  and  touches  the  back  of  the  tongue,  clos- 
ing the  passage  through  the  mouth  and  letting  the 
breath  pass  through  the  nose  only.  Repeat  these  two 
sounds  several  times  one  after  the  other. 

The  small  appendix  to  the  soft  palate  which  you 
can  see  moving  with  it  is  the  uvula. 


The  "  AH ''  Sound 


The  "  NO  "  Sound 


Soft  palate  lowered, 
through] 


Soft  palate  pressed  against  back 
wall  of  pharynx.  Air  passes 
through  mouth. 


§  14.  Voice.  Voice  is  produced  with  the  two  vocal 
cords  which  are  in  the  larynx  just  above  the  air  tube. 
They  are  elastic  and  move  very  easily.  In  order  to 
produce  voice  the  two  vocal  cords  are  brought  close 
together.  The  pressure  of  the  air,  which  is  forced 
through  the  small  passage  between  them,  causes  them 
to  vibrate.  This  vibration  produces  the  sound  called 
yoke. 


THE  ORGANS  OF  SPEECH 


9 


The  opening  between  the  two  vocal  cords  is  called 
glottis,  hence  the  name  "glottal  sounds"  for  sounds 
formed  only  between  the  vocal  cords. 


ToSlT/ON  OF  VOCAL  Cords 

W/TH   VOICELESS    SouNPS. 


TOSITION  OF  VOCAL  CORDS 
WITH  VOICED  SOUNPS. 


2  :^  -^  ^  -j:  -^ 


Sounds  with  "  voice ''  are  called  voiced. 

Sounds  without  "  voice  "  are  called  voiceless. 

§  15.  Lips.  In  English  the  lips  are  used  very  little. 
In  French  they  are  an  important  factor  in  modifying 
sounds,  especially  vowels.  Certain  vowels  differ  from 
others  only  in  the  position  of  the  lips. 

The  Three  Fundamental  Positions  of  the  Lips 


Rounded 
Sounds  y  and  u. 


Wide  Open 
Sound  a. 


10 


INTRODUCTION 


It 

® 

15 

§. 

s 

M 

5^ 

•s 

a 

H 

3 

C 

••• 

If 

!:« 

H 

2, 

ss 

«il 

lil 

<I 

can 

ti 

ii 

> 

2 

< 

3 

> 

3 

1 

2      aaoKox      o 

SXKVN0SX03 

sia.\io  V 

THE  FRENCH  SOUND  CHART        11 

Underlined  sounds  are  voiceless,  all  the  others  are 
voiced  (pronounced  with  voice).    All  vowels  are  voiced. 

°  (circle)  under  m,  Z,  r,  R  indicates  that  they  are 
voiceless.  No  special  symbol  has  been  chosen  for 
these  voiceless  sounds,  as  they  do  not  occur  very 
frequently. 

*  after  sound  indicates  that  lips  are  rounded. 

^  over  vowel  indicates  that  it  is  nasal. 

The  sounds  in  this  diagram  are  given  according  to 
their  points  of  articulation.  The  farther  back  in  the 
mouth  a  sound  is  formed,  the  farther  back  is  it  placed 
in  the  chart.  The  lower  in  the  mouth  a  sound,  i.e. 
the  more  opening  there  is  for  the  passage  of  the  breath, 
the  lower  is  it  placed  in  the  chart.  The  sound  s,  for 
instance,  is  formed  in  the  front  of  the  mouth,  and  the 
passage  for  the  breath  is  narrow,  a  is  formed  farther 
back  in  the  mouth,  and  the  passage  for  the  breath  is 
very  wide. 

Bilabials  are  formed  with  both  lips. 

Labiodentals  are  formed  with  upper  teeth  and  lower 

lip. 

Alveolars  are  formed  with  tip  or  blade  of  tongue  and 
upper  gums. 

Palatals  are  formed  with  front  of  tongue  and  hard 
palate  (front  part  of  palate). 

Velars  are  formed  with  back  of  tongue  and  soft 
palate  (back  part  of  palate). 

Uvulars  are  formed  with  back  of  tongue  and  uvula. 

Glottals  are  formed  with  the  vocal  cords. 

Plosives.  Mouth  entirely  closed  for  a  moment  by 
1 1  ps,  or  by  pressing  tongue  against  teeth  or  palate. 

Nasals.     Passage  through  mouth  is  closed  by  both 


12  INTRODUCTION 

lips,  or  by  pressing  tongue  against  teeth  or  palate. 
The  soft  palate  is  lowered  and  air  therefore  passes 
only  through  the  nose. 

With  nasal  vowels  air  passes  through  mouth  and 
nose  simultaneously. 

Fricatives.  Both  lips,  tongue  and  teeth,  or  tongue 
and  palate  are  brought  so  close  together  that  the  pass- 
ing air  causes  strong  friction.  Hence  the  name  frica- 
tives. 

Laterals.  Tip  of  tongue  pressed  against  teeth,  while 
sides  of  tongue  are  lowered  sufficiently  to  allow  the 
air  a  free  passage. 

Rolled  (trilled).  The  air  passage  is  closed  for  a 
moment,  then  opened,  again  closed,  and  so  forth.  This 
is  repeated  several  times  in  quick  succession  in  the 
manner  in  which  a  drumstick  "  vibrates  "  on  the  drum. 

Vowels.     See  §§  62-84. 

Length.  If  vowel  is  followed  by  i  it  is  long,  if  fol- 
lowed by  •  it  is  half-long.  Otherwise  it  is  short 
(passe  =/)ai«,  passer  =pa»'«e,  pas  =/)a). 

Accent  is  indicated  by  '  in  front  of  syllable  which  is 
accented  (passer  =  jxif'se,  intonation  s  I'Uma^'afi). 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS 


13 


■^ 


II 

'd 

^<' 

h 

s 

CO 

i<V 

rr* 

VwX- 

^ 

H 

II 

II 

c^ 

^ 

rJsi 

rii 

CO 

w 

H 
H 

o 

P 

o 

CO 

o 
o 

« 
g 

g 

P 
o 

CO 


o 

o 


p^ 


II        O 


a  a 

o    o 


II     § 


B^  -?.  ,q    "  J        r  > 

a,    rO      •«      "^     rii  fO        C^ 


P^  t^  O 

pi  ^  ^J^  rd    cT 

II  11  II  II  II 


sioa 

-WAg  01 

-xaxoHj 


S!^   rO      «     '^     rie 


,-1     d     ^  ^    O 

CO    00    CO    CO    CO 
.^  ,x>.  <^    CO 


l>     CZ2   Oi 


03      <0 


OJ    02 


^  a 


a 
a 

a 
0 

^ 
0 

0 

Tl 

0 

II 

II 

II 

.&    be 

s 

s 

^  a 

-^^ 

'i 

g 

i 

r£3 

;-< 

n 

<x» 

^ 

II 

a 

go 

00 

1 

i=i 

II 

•43 

a 

0 

p 

?.5^ 

a 

II 

II 

,  ^      s  §  g 


9 

a"^  fi  a 

II 

II  II  II 

g    ?2     P^ 


CO 
CO 

§§ 

T*1 

&<73 

coa  «7s 

GOO 

QO 

1 

<D     03 

0) 
0) 

02 

14 


INTRODUCTION 


I 


k 

^ 


0 


II  II  II  II 


II      ^ 

fli  g  s 


s 


•a 

«.-r      ►"  od"  t>  «  o  .^ 
II       II   II       II   II   II 


►»  —     ^-    ►» 

o       ua 


^^=:  a  § 


II 


-MAS  01 

-XSNOB<| 


'^ 


P      "0 


»o 


>  5 


<N 


CO 


^  »0    CO 


»0    CO   t» 


00 


(09  <a>» 


<o» 


—  *     T^        ®  ©03  >»r        y^f       y*f  y*f 

ffS   ♦*      gj  ©      ©  ©      U     Q)  Q> 

1-^  OQ         QQGO         OQCAOQ         00 


etfe  (00  eoo 

0?    a>    o 


SOtNDS  AND  LETTERS 


15 


II 

II 

1 
^  II 

1 
II     II 

CO    w    a^   8^ 

S    '"1 

II  li 

7          u 
II           II 

r^o  iXi* 

S-oft^o     ^     ft^ 

§  20.  Laterals 

See  §§  52,  53 
See  §§  52,  54 

§  21.   Rolled 

See  §§  55-57 
See  §§55, 59-60 

See  §§  55-58 
See  §§55, 59-61 

<D 

p! 

1 

•2f 

O 

ti 

o 

g  8 

•^ 

Pi     '''^ 

•1^     -. 

P< 

u    Pi 

f3 

«2  ^ 

© 

11 

^    2 

r-^ 

:^ 

"  V 

0^     ^ 
^    ^     Ii 

ce 

V     r«o 

J  !^ 

?     II    ^^ 

'^-^ 

w    S 

^1 

II 

ai 

'iii,  ^ 

5» 

d) 

u 

^   <t^ 

<?^    (A 

o  a 

u 

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0) 

1 

TO     i-H 
1— 1      v,_X 

U 

II 

+3  .I—* 

V" 

II 

J 

n  " 

CO       -M^ 

^      CO 

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'^ 

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'^  ^ 

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g 

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a 

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<D 

I'i- 

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fti 

v_^ 

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^ 

XD     '^ 

-s^-ft 

II 

o 

a 

'p 

ii 

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II 

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II      1 

an 

II   8 

II 

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00 

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r^ 

5>> 

u   8 

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pi 

S  „- 

<X) 

05 

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»  =1 

<ar  '^^ 

a 

<r-l 

c.  tsT 

•"  'r^ 

_J* 

<pi 

•  r^ 

>^ 

M)     <D 

O    c3 

;:3 

O 

11 

II 

II 

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W 

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CO      CO 

^ 

o 

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t- 

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CO 

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1 

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CO 

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coo 

tan 

^ 

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« 

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609 

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coo    CZ2 

c<7» 

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16 


INTRODUCTION 


! 

ft. 

3 

3 


5i 


In    ^ 

•*? 
II  Z 

§  11 


g"  3 

II  ^^ 


X  s 

S  o 
o  .2 
8-° 

-I" 

:2^ 


-a 
11 


25 
II 


8 


J 


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.1    I 


dir 


II 


«»4       ^ 

II    II  p  ;;•  f 


«   o   :3 


^0:300 

O    O    (U    o    ? 


II  II 


II 


II 


9ioa 

-MAS  01 
-XXAIOHJ 


•^    8 


o      CO 


^ 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS 


17 


i 

M 

1 

^^ 

05 

? 

v-/ 

a 

11 

o 

II 

<4-H 

rt       ^  -2 

r! 

^ 

2     ^^ 

T 

g 

rt      ^ 

p.    w^ 

•^ 
^ 

II     II  „ 

fl 

^ 

o 

M 

fl 

B 

1  rt  fl 

02                          c3      O 

II 

0^      a     ^   ^   ^    ri 

«    o     II    V©    g 

II 

11    II  -^  ^  ^'^ 

cc  ,1!  :^  II  II  II 

>o5 

(CO 

»=o    S  ^5^   «s   ^  'Ci 

&5 

cc 

5^  ,:S  r2  «^  s:^^  ,0 

^ 

>1 

a 

a 
•5 

^  .2  ^  '^  a  II 

II 

II 

|1 

rS 

6C 

'^ 

g  1^  ^§  i5.  'i  :g 

'S 

a> 

a 

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i£ 

a  ^  fl  fl  g  fl 

o 

B 

>* 

•s  fH-  ^  1  o  § 

1 1 

B 

B 

.a  c^  a  a  fl  a 

oT 

t>> 

e«    w   -3     c«     ©     O 

II 

II 

II      II            II 

<t 

ICO 

J5J  <e       irt 

fe  -s  ^e 

-* 

-^  ^       '* 

QO 

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00    00            00 
GO    00            00 

e09    C&3               C09 

C09  CQ   c<?3 

a> 

03 

(CO)             <c 

C/?^ 

^ 

02  02         02 

18 


INTRODUCTION 


§  28.    FRENCH    AND    ENGLISH    SOUNDS   WHICH 
ARE   ALIKE  ^ 


80UHD8 
(PnoNrric 
Stmbola) 

Frbhob 
LrrTBRS 

FsniOH 

WOBM 

EiroLisH 

LSTTSM 

Ekolihi 
W0BD8 

b 

b 

brun 

b 

but 

9 

g 

grand 

g 

good 

m 

m 

mon 

m 

my 

w 

ou 

ooi 

w 

wit 

f 

f 

fin 

f 

fine 

V 

V 

vi8age 

▼ 

▼isage 

s 

8 

si 

8 

see 

z 

8 

vaseline 

8 

vaseline 

J 

ch 

yache 

8h 

wash 

3 

J 

Joli 

8 

pleasure 

J 

i 

ciel 

y 

yell 

e 

^ 

mire 

e 

there* 

a 

a 

passe 

a 

father 

1  In  most  cases  there  is  a  slight  difference  between  the  French 
and  English  sound,  since  the  French  pronounce  practically  all 
sounds  more  energetically  than  the  English. 

2  As  pronounced  in  some  parts  of  the  United  States,  this 
SQUqd  is  quite  different  from  the  French  sound. 


FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  SOUNDS 


19 


§  29.  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  SOUNDS  WHICH 
SEEM  ALIKE  TO  THE  BEGINNER  BUT  ARE 
NOT   IDENTICAL 


FRENCH 

ENGLISH 

w  o 

0.  (n 

Letters 

Words 

ii 

Lktters 

Words 

See  §  31 

P 

P 

pere 

P^' 

p 

pair 

See  §§  33-34 

t 

t 

tout 

t^^ 

t 

too 

See  §§33, 35 

d 

d 

des 

d 

d 

day 

See  §  36 

k 

c 

car 

W^ 

c 

car 

See  §  40 

n 

n 

nos 

n 

n 

no 

See  §  49 

U 

u 

huit 

w 

w 

wit 

See  §§52,  54 

I 

1 

il 

I 

1 

ill 

See  §§55-61 

r 

r 

rose 

d 

r 

rose 

See  §§  65-66 

i 

i 

iil 

li 

1 

ee 
i 

see 

ill 

See  §  67 

e 

e 

ete 

ei 

a 

hate 

See  §§  69,  71 
See  §§69,  72 

eu 
eu 

peu   1 
peur  J 

9:{j) 

urr 

purr 

See  §§  65,  73 

u 

ou 

f  tout 
i  toute 

Ull 

u 

00 
00 

too 

foot 

See  §  74 

0 

0 

sot 

ou 

0 

so 

See  §  75 

0 

0 

note 

0 

0 

Dot 

See  §  79 

9 

e 

le 

d 

a 

America 

See  §§  76-77 

a 

a 

patte 

SB 

a 

pat 

PART  I.    DETAILED  DESCRIPTION  OF 
ALL  FRENCH   SOUNDS 

WITH  NUMEROUS  DRAWINQS   AND    EXERCISES 
FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE 

(See  S{  2-6,  pp.  1-3) 

CONSONANTS 

S  80.   Consonants  will  be  given  in  the  following 
order  (see  sound  chart,  p.  10): 

1.  Plosives:  pb     td     kg 

2.  Nasals :  i^im     n    ji 

3.  Fricatives :  /v     «;     J3    J     V     ^     W 

4.  Laterals:  {/ 

5.  Rolled:  fr     RR 

PLOSIVES 


§31.     p  =  p,  pp 


^      Exercise  1.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


I  pa'pa  I    piip     !   p^Z 
;  papa  \  pompe  ;  Paul 


papi'P   I  popy'ltxr  \  fra'pe    \ 
papUloQ  !  populaire  |  frapper  I 


The  French  p  is  not  followed  by  the  "  breath  "  as 
the  English  p^  in  papa.  Otherwise  p  is  the  same  in 
both  languages. 

20 


CONSONANTS 


21 


Hold  thin  paper  in  one  hand  about  one  or  two  inches 
in  front  of  the  mouth.  Pronounce  energetically  first 
English  p^  (with  breath),  then  French  p  (without 
breath).  With  French  p  the  paper  should  hardly 
move,  but  quite  considerably  with  English  p^.  Prac- 
tice p  in  the  same  manner  in  the  word  "papa"  in 
English  and  French.     (French  papa  =  pa'pa.) 


§32. 


b  =  h 


Same  as  in  English  "bee."     See 

also  §  99,  final  voiced  consonants.     Ex.  boib  =  bombe ; 

na'bab  =  nabab ;  bwair  =  boire. 

r>  ««    -r^  f  i  IN  tu         ^  f  «^  IN  tell 

§  33.   French  {  ^       ^  English  {  , 

I  d  IN  du  I  d  IN  do 


Tip  of  tongue  farther  back  in 
English.    Breath  following  if*. 


Tip  of  tongue  pressed  against 
edges  of  upper  teeth,  not 
against  gums,  as  in  English. 
No  breath  following  t. 

Exercise  2,   for  t   (voiceless).     Practice  aloud.     Use 
mirror. 


teta'teit 
tete-^-tete 


testaUoeir 
testateur 


to'tal  1       to  'te  ta  t  il  o^'te  ta  'tuf 
total  '  Ton  th^  t'a-t-il  6t6  ta  toux? 


22 


PLOSIVES 


^  Exercise  3,    for    d    (voiced).     Practice    aloud.     Use 

mirror. 


I 


de'd^   I   d€:d    i    d^'da    ;    didak'tik   !       d^  dody  dl''<a 
•  d^ain  !  dinde  '  dedans  i  dldacUque  *  Deux  dodus  dindons  ! 


§34. 


t  =  t,  tt,  th 


Practice    the    sound    alone 


with  a  thin  piece  of  paper,  as  with  the  consonant  p 
(§  31)  and  also  in  the  words  "  tea "  (t^  with  breath) 
and  French  "  th^  "  (t  without  breath).  The  tip  of  the 
tongue  must  show  between  the  teeth  in  French* 


35. 


d  =  d 


Same  position  of  tongue  as  for  t^ 

but  d  is  voiced,  while  t  is  voiceless.     See  also  §  99^ 
final  voiced  consonants.      Ex.  dy  =  du ;   dd  s  dans  \ 

eid  =  aide. 


§36. 

A:  =  c,  ch,  k,  ck,  q,  qu,  cqu 

Exercis 

e  4.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mir 

ror. 

•  ko'ko  j  kair  ;     k>'nUl     j     ki'kSik      •    ata'ke    \ 

;   coco  !    car   ;  comment  ;  quiconque  !  attaquer  ; 
.• 1 : ; ' : 

French  k  is  not  followed  by  breath  as  English  k^. 
Otherwise  both  sounds  are  alike.  Practice  English 
k^  and  French  k,  first  alone,  then  in  "  come  "  (with  A:^) 
and  "comme"  (=zkom,  without  breath),  in  the  same 
manner  as  p  and  ^  (§§  31,  33,  34). 


§37. 


9  =  gyg^ 


Same  as  in  English  "  girl."    See 


also  §  99,  final  voiced  consonants.     Ex.  ^a  =  gant. 


CONSONANTS 


23 


§38. 


;  -me 


NASALS 

Same  as  m,  but  voiceless.   This 


soTind  is  found  only  at  the  end  of  a  word,  after  a 
voiceless  consonant. 

Exercise  5,  for  m  (voiceless).     Practice  aloud.     Use 
mirror. 


ryma'tism 
rhumatisme 


asm 
asthme 


Jovi'nism 
chauvinisme 


schisme 


milita'rism 
militarisme 


§  39. 


m  =  m,  mm  (voiced)        Same  as  in  English 


"  mother."      Ex.   mb  =  mon ;  fam  =  femme ;  meim  = 
m^me. 


§  40. 


n  =  n,  nn 


French  n  in  nos 


English  n  in  no 


Tip  of  tongue  pressed  against 
edges  of  upper  teeth,  not 
against  gums  as  in  English. 
Tip  of  tongue  must  show  be- 
tween teeth  in  French,  as  with 


Tip  of  tongue  farther  back  and 
higher  in  English.  Tip  of 
tongue  does  not  show  be- 
tween teeth.  See  also  t  and 
(i(§§3a-35). 


24 


CONSONANTS 


Soft  palate  lowered  with  both  sounds,  therefore  they 
are  nasal. 

Exercise  6.    Practice  aloud.    Use  mirror. 


;   ncin 
I  naine 


niko'tin  I     rxon     \    UR'nct    •    kano'nad 
nicotine  •  nonne  ;  Nannette ;  canonnade 


ana'na 
ananas 


§41. 


ji  =  gn,  ng 


French  ji  in  magnifique 


Tip  of  tongue  touches 
lower  teeth.  Front  of 
tongue  pressed  against 
hard  palate.  Passage 
through  mouth  closed 
completely.  Soft  palate 
lowered;  sound  therefore 
nasal. 


Exercise  7.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


I  signe 
\  cygne 


svgoji 
cigogne 


pe'jic 
peigner 


mi'tiji 
meeting 


k^-'paji 
compagne 


fl'jlO 

agneau 


There  is  no  similar  sound  in  English.  The  position 
of  the  tongue  in  general  is  the  same  as  for  English 
y  in  "yes,"  "young."  The  tongue  is  pressed  more 
energetically  against  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  however. 


FRICATIVES 


25 


The  soft  palate  is  lowered  and  the  breath  escapes 
through  the  nose. 

Practice  the  sound  first  in  the  word  "  peigner " 
(pe-'jie).  Pause  between  the  two  syllables  to  get  cor- 
rect position  of  tongue  for  ji.  Be  careful  not  to  raise 
the  tip  of  the  tongue  after  e. 

It  is  not  a  bad  mistake  to  say  nj  instead  of  ji.  Many 
Prenchmen  pronounce  it  that  way. 


§42. 


/=  f,  ff,  pli 


FRICATIVES 

Same  as  in  English  "five.'' 


Ex.  feir  =  faire  ;  o^frixr  =  offrir  ;  j^fo'2;o/=  pliilosophe. 
§  43.     ?;  =  V,  w       Same  as  in  English  "  liver.''     See 

Ex.   vu  =  vous  ; 


also  §  99,  final  voiced  consonants 
kaiv  =  cave  ;  va'go  =  wagon. 

§44 


O      —       S.       bo.       K/m      Uj      X 


Same  as  in  English  "  so." 


Ex.   si's  =  six ;  tais  =  tasse  ;  i^si  =  ici ;  Za'sa  =  leQon. 
§  45.      z  =  s,  z        Same  as  in  English  "  zero."     See 


also  §  99,  final  voiced  consonants.     Ex.  ^eiz  =  chaise ; 
zeil  =  zele  ;  o^'ze  =  oser. 


§  46. 


J  =  ch,  sch 


Same  as  in  English  "ship." 

Ex.  val  =  vache ;  le'ma  =  schema ;   ^e^^'je  =  chercher. 

§  47.      3  =  j>  ge       Same  as  in  English  "  treasure." 

See   also   §  99,  final   voiced   consonants.      Ex.   3a  = 
Jean,  gens  ;  50 7i  =  joli ;  Ta:^  =  rage. 

§  48.      j  =  i,  y,  11,  il,  ill      Same  as  in  English  "yes." 


26 


CONSONANTS 


See  §  109  and  §  125.  Ex.  [jc  =  chien ;  le'zj^  =  les 
yeux  ;  Jiij  =  tille  ;  tra'vaij  =  travail ;  trava'je  =  tra- 
vailler. 


French  y  in  lui 

Tip  of  tongue  touches 
lower  teeth.  Front  of 
tongue  almost  touches 
hard  palate,  but  drops 
immediately. 

No  similar  sound  in 
English. 


Exercise  8.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 

;   yit   \  lyi  I  pyi  >   mye  ;  ryin  j  d'^syit   !    nyiHia 
!  huit  !  lui  I  puis  j  muet  !  mine  |  ensuite  ;  nuance 


Before  learning  this  sound  the  vowel  y  in  "sur" 
(syir)  must  have  been  completely  mastered.  See  vowel 
y,  §§  69-70  and  §  121. 

The  position  of  the  tongue  is  the  same  for  y  and  J, 
but  the  lips  are  rounded  for  y>  while  they  are  spread 
for  J.  Pronounce  the  soundj  in  "  yes."  Then  round  your 
lips  until  the  opening  is  just  large  enough  to  push  a 
nail  through.  Keep  the  lips  in  this  position  (rounded) 
and  pronounce  again  the  sound  j.  As  the  lips  are 
rounded,  the  sound  obtained  will  not  be  J  but  y, 

y  is  hard  to  pronounce  in  most  words.     Although  it 


FRICATIVES 


27 


is  strongly  rounded,  it  usually  precedes  vowels  which, 
are  not  rounded,  for  instance  in  huit  (?/i*^). 

Position  of  Lips  in  the  Word  huit  (jiit) 


/^^ 

/^ 

?i^ 

(£ff^i  ^N^ 

^ 

y 

it 

Pronounce  the  word  "huit"  (^^'0?  ^s  if  it  were  jity 
with  the  lips  drawn  back  at  the  corners.  Then  round 
lips  until  hardly  any  opening  is  left  and  repeat  slowly 
j — itf  keeping  the  lips  rounded  for  j,  and  drawing  them 
quickly  back  for  it.  Eepeat  this  several  times,  grad- 
ually increasing  the  speed. 

Or  pronounce  the  word  as  if  it  were  yiit,  with  vowel 
y  instead  of  consonant  -y.  Eepeat  the  word  several 
times  in  succession,  slowly  at  first,  making  a  short 
pause  between  yi  and  it.  Increase  speed  gradually, 
omitting  the  pause,  and  rounding  the  lips  still  more 
energetically  for  y,  until  you  have  the  consonant !(. 

Practice  in  the  same  manner  suis  (s?/i),  luette  (liiet)^ 
lui  (?^/^).  Do  not  say  swi,  Iwet,  h_oi,  wit.  Practice  also 
the  following  exercise,  in  order  to  learn  the  difference 
between  ?/  and  w,  pronouncing  first  one  word  with  the 
sound  ?/,  and  then  the  corresponding  word  below  with 
the  sound  w. 


28  FRICATIVES 

Exercise  9,  for  y  and  to.     Practice  aloud. 




V 

lyi 
lui 

nye 
nu^e 

sua 

suette 

tye 
tuer 

8uint 

Ruy  1 

w 

IVfi 

Louis 

nwe 
nouer 

stoet 
(je,il)80uhaite 

ttoe 
touer 

8oin 

TVfi    ] 

roui  1 

60. 


w  =  ou,  w,  o(i),  o(y),  0(6) 


Ex. 


pwair  = 


French  to  in  oai 


poire ;  Iwi  s  Louis ;  tram- 
'toe=s  tramway ;  trwa=a 
trois.  Lips  rounded  ener- 
getically. Tongue  pulled 
back  and  as  high  as  pos- 
sible, but  drops  imme- 
diately. 

Lips  rounded  more 
energetically  than  in 
English,  Otherwise  same 
as  in  English  "  will."  See 
alphabet,  §  115,  under  on. 
Also  Exercise  9,  for  y 
and  w. 


§61. 


h  =  h 


Most  Frenchmen  do  not  pronounce 

this  sound  at  all.     If  however  pronounced,  it  is  the 
same  as  in  English  "  he." 

NoTB.  We  must  distinguish  between  h  mute  and  h  aspirate ; 
h  mute  is  never  pronounced,  h  aspirate  may  be  pronounced. 

No  elision  and  no  liaison  is  made  before  h  aspirate. 

Example  :  Le  h^ros  =  h  e^'ro,  un  h^ros  =  ce  e*'ro. 

But  before  h  mute  :  L'homme  =  bm,  un  homme  =  cB'n  am. 
See  §  88,  2,  and  §  90.  ^ 


CONSONANTS 


29 


§  62.    French 


LATERALS 

I  IN  table 
I  IN  il 


English  I  in  ilL 


Tip  of  tongue  pressed  against       Tip   of   tongue    farttier   back, 
edges  of  upper  teeth  (as  for  pressing  against  upper  gums 

tf  d,  n).    Tongue  must  show  (asiort,d,n).  Back  of  tongue 

between     teeth.       Back     of  also  raised,  hence  the  so-called 

tongue  lowered.  "thick"  or  ''dull"  sound  of 

English  I. 

Dotted  line  shows  how  breath  escapes  on  both  sides 
of  tongue,  as  the  middle  of  the  tongue  is  raised.  The 
sides  of  the  tongue  cannot  be  shown  in  these  diagrams. 

Exercise  10,  for  I  (voiceless).  Practice  aloud.  Use 
mirror. 


taibl 
table 


vi'ziibl 
visible 


sjeikl 
siecle 


mi'ra\kl 
miracle 


8i\kl 
cycle 


&ibl 
humble 


poepl 
peuple 


Exercise  11,  for  I  (voiced).     Practice  aloud. 


l9  lila  I 
le  lilas  ! 


la  vil 
la  ville 


Id  sjel  I 
le  ciel  ! 


lapi'lyl 
la  pilule 


III 
Lille 


l9  bal  \ 
le  bal  I 


laVmaji 
PAllemagne 


LATERALS 


f  63.      { =  -le       Same  as  next  sound,  l,  but  voioe' 

less.    Learn  voiced  I  first    The  voiceless  {  is  found 
only  at  the  end  of  a  word,  after  another  consonant. 


§54. 


;  =  1, 11 


Say  a  long  English  /  as  in  "ill." 

Continue  the  sound  while  pushing  the  tip  of  the  tongue 
gradually  forward  until  it  reaches  the  edge  of  the 
upper  teeth.  Try  to  pull  down  the  back  of  the  tongue 
at  the  same  time.  In  that  manner  you  get  the  French 
ly  which  sounds  more  like  e,  not  like  o  or  ti. 

A  better  way  is  to  learn  it  in  a  word.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  a  word  the  English  /  is  usually  about  the  same 
as  in  French,  i,e.  the  back  of  the  tongue  is  not  raised, 
or  only  very  little.  Pronounce  the  English  word 
"lean"  several  times  very  slowly,  increasing  the  length 
of  /  every  time.  Push  tongue  gradually  forward  until 
it  shows  between  teeth.  Then  try  sound  alone.  If 
I  should  still  sound  like  o  or  t/,  start  the  whole  pro- 
cedure over  again.  Practice  initial  I  also  in  words 
like  le  (/»),  la  (la)y  lea  (le).  At  first  make  I  as  long  as 
possible.  In  that  way  you  can  hear  more  easily  if 
sound  is  correct.  After  le,  la,  les  take  words  like 
Philippe  {Ji'lip)i  &ise  (e'/iw),  where  /  is  between  two 
vowels.  The  next  step  is  final  /  after  front  vowels  in 
ville,  vil,  vile  (=  viT),  tel,  telle  (=  td).  Last  of  all 
one  should  try  /  after  back  vowels,  as  in  salle  («a/), 
foule  {fuJ),  It  is  very  hard  to  keep  the  back  of  the 
tongue  down  for  /  after  back  vowels. 

ly  as  well  as  the  next  two  consonants,  r  and  r,  re- 
quires a  good  deal  of  patience.  These  three  sounds 
are  among  the  most  difficult  French  consonants. 


CONSONANTS 


31 


"ROLLED"   OR   "TRILLED''  R 

§  55.  There  are  two  trilled  r  sounds  in  French. 
Either  of  them  may  be  used,  but  not  both  by  the  same 
person.  There  is  a  third  r,  which  can  be  frequently 
heard  in  Paris  and  elsewhere,  but  it  is  not  considered 
as  good  as  the  other  two  sounds.  Only  the  trilled 
tongue  and  uvular  r  are  given  here.  Tongue  r  (r)  is 
used  in  small  towns,  in  the  country,  and  by  orators  or 
actors.  Uvular  r  (n)  is  heard  more  in  Paris  and  other 
large  towns. 

(V  IN  rendre 
,        English  x  in  very 
r  IN  rendre  "^ 


Tip  of  tongue  ** vibrates"  on 
the  upper  gums,  i.e.,  it  closes 
the  air  passage  completely 
for  a  moment,  drops  down 
a  little,  closes  it  again,  and 
so  on.  This  is  done  several 
times  in  such  quick  succes- 
sion that  one  can  hardly 
count  the  "taps."  Dotted 
line  indicates  course  of  breath. 


Tongue  does  not  vibrate.  Tip 
of  tongue  also  raised  toward 
the  gums,  but  leaves  a  nar- 
row passage.  [The  majority 
of  Americans  form  u  (as  in 
very)  a  little  farther  back 
than  the  English.  This  sound 
must  be  avoided  in  French. 
It  is  the  worst  mistake  that 
can  be  made  in  French.] 


82 


CONSONANTS 


Exercise  12,  for  f  (voiceless).     Practice   aloud.     Use 
mirror. 


\  6tre  ;  ordre 


itpx    \  marbx  1  prdrdf    j 
Ypres  ;  marbre  S  prendre  ; 


Exercise  13,   for  r  (voiced).      Practice   aloud.     Uae 
mirror. 


6n/  j  brixz  1   bra 
bref  !  briae  !  bras 


bry'U  I  pre  ;    prca 
brdler  ;  pr4  ',  preese 


prix 


craque 


ori 


mu*riir 
mourir 


dbr^mUr 
dormir 


mar'iiiT 
mart7r(e) 


§67. 


X  =  -re 


Same  as  next  sound,  r,  but  voice- 


less.    Learn  voiced  r  first     Voiceless  %  is  found  only 
at  the  end  of  a  word,  after  another  consonant. 


§68.      r  =  r,  rr       The    best    way    to    learn    the 


"  trilled  "  or  "  rolled  "  r  is  in  a  word  after  6  or  p  (brise 
=  brixZj  prix  =  pri).  In  the  beginning  try  only  to  pro- 
duce one  ^^  tap.''  As  soon  as  you  are  able  to  do  that, 
it  is  comparatively  easy  to  make  two,  three,  or  more 
taps.  A  Frenchman  does  not,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, make  more  than  two  or  three  ^'  taps."  The 
muscles  of  the  tongue  must  be  relaxed.  (A  drummer 
does  not  stiffen  the  muscles  of  his  hand  !) 

Practice  also  words  like  bras  {bra),  bref  (bref), 
brosse  (bros),  pr^s  (pre),  prose  (proiz).  After  hav- 
ing fully  mastered  these  words  try  the  following 
words  :  crasse  (kras),  craie  (Are),  Arabe  (a'rab),  marine 
(ma'rin).     The  average  student  will  find  r  much  easier 


R-SOUNDS 


33 


in  these  combinations  than  in  any  others.     Do  not  try 
r  after  t  and  d  at  first. 

e  en    -ci  f  ^  i^  rendre 

§  59.   French^  ° 


\e  IS  rendre 


Tongue  with  Deep  De- 
pression, EUNNING 
FROM  Tip  to  Back 


Uvula  "  vibrates  "  on  back  of  tongue.  Deep  depression  in  tongue, 
running  from  tip  to  back,  as  shown  in  small  diagram.  Back  of 
tongue  pressed  against  the  soft  palate,  except  in  middle.  For  a 
moment  uvula  closes  completely  the  air  passage  in  the  middle  of 
tongue.  The  next  moment  it  is  pushed  forward,  allowing  just  a 
little  air  to  escape.  It  drops  back,  is  pushed  forward  again,  and 
so  on,  several  times  in  quick  succession  (as  with  r).  Dotted  line 
indicates  course  of  breath. 

Exercise  for  r  and  r  :  See  exercises  for  r  and  r. 


§60. 


R  =  -re 


Same  as  next  sound,  r,  but  voice- 
less. Learn  voiced  r  first  (§  61).  Voiceless  ^  is  found 
only  at  the  end  of  a  word,  after  another  consonant. 


34  CONSONANTS 


61. 


7?  =  r,  rr 


The  average  student  will  find 


"tongue  r"  easier  than  "uvular  r."  As  has  been 
pointed  out,  only  one  is  necessary.  It  pays,  however, 
to  try  both. 

It  is  impossible  to  learn  this  sound  when  uvula  is  dry. 
Nearly  everybody  can  produce  the  sound  when  gar- 
gling. Take  at  first  a  few  drops  of  water  and  gargle, 
after  having  practiced  a  little  use  only  one  drop,  until 
finally  you  can  "  gargle  "  without  any  water.  "  Gar- 
gling without  water ''  is  equivalent  to  pronouncing  the 
"  uvular  r." 

Try  R  in  the  following  words :  Arabe  (a'i2a&),  herbe 
(ej?6),  Aries  (ai?/),  rose  (^oi«),  rat  (^a).  Do  not  prac- 
tice R  before  or  after  A:  or  ^  at  first  As  soon  as  your 
uvula  feels  dry,  take  a  little  water  or  stop  practicing 
for  a  while. 


VOWELS 


§  62.  The  average  student  will  find  vowels  mucli 
harder  to  learn  than  consonants,  because  French  vowels 
are  pronounced  much  more  energetically  than  English 
vowels.  The  slightest  change  in  the  position  of  the 
tongue  will  also  change  the  sound  of  the  vowel  com- 
pletely. The  muscles  of  the  tongue  are  tense  for  all 
French  vowels.  In  English  the  muscles  are  usually  re- 
laxed, or  in  many  cases  they  become  only  gradually 
tense  towards  the  end  of  the  vowel  sound.  Hence  the 
great  number  of  "  diphthongs  "  in  English.  Compare 
the  English  and  French  words  in  the  following  exercise. 

Exercise  14.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


I  English 

sii 

ser         1           sou 

suit             1 

c,  see, 

say         [  so,  sow,  sew 

Sioux  (Indian)    j 

sea 

sou  (French  coin) ! 

French 

SI 

se          1            so 

-I 
su              1 

(tong-ue 

SI,  Cl, 

c,  ses,  ces,  !  sot,  saut,  seau, 

sou,  sous,  soue,  ! 

tense) 

scie 

sais(  present  Isceau,  Sceaux 
of  "savoir")j 

soul,  or  saoul    [ 

In  English  in  these  words  you  begin  to  pronounce 
the  vowel  before  the  muscles  of  the  tongue  are  tense. 
The  tongue  therefore  is  generally  lower  than  it  would 
be  were  the  muscles  tense.  But  while  you  are  still 
pronouncing  the  vowel  you  stiffen  the  muscles.  This 
causes  the  tongue  to  be  raised.  In  French  the  tongue 
must  be  tense  the  moment  you  begin  the  vowel.  There- 
fore the  tongue  is  high  from  the.  very  beginning. 

35 


36 


VOWELS 


§  63.  The  lips  also  play  an  important  part  in  the  for- 
mation of  most  vowels.  The  lips  are  either  "  rounded  " 
or  "  spread,"  or  the  mouth  is  "  wide  open." 

Imitate  the  position  of  the  lips  in  the  drawings 
below  with  the  aid  of  a  small  mirror.  Exaggerate 
the  position  of  the  lips  as  much  as  possible  in  the 
beginning. 

Sometimes  three  or  even  four  vowels  have  the  same 
position  of  the  lips. 

POSITION   OF  LIPS   FOR   ALL  FRENCH   VOWELS 


POSITION   OF  LIPS 


37 


1  1.     i  (=i,  i,  i,  y) 

, 

^  1 2/  (  =  u,  u,  eu,  eu)         ,' 
'  1  w  (  =  ou,  ou)                  1 

1  2.     e  (=  ^,  e,  er,  ez,  ai,  ce) 

f  ^  (  =  eu,  eu,  ceu)           I 

5.     0  ( =  0,  6,  au,  eau)        1 

I  5  (  =  om,  on)                 j 

j       j  8  (=  6,  e,  e,  ai,  ei) 
1     ■  [c  (=im,    in,  en,  ym,  yn, 
[                        aim,  ain,  eim,  ein, 
I                        (i)en,  (o)in  ) 

6. 

ce  (=  eu,  oe,  oeu,  ue)     I 

oe  {=  um,  un,  eun)        | 

0   (=0,  00,  au,  u(m)  )1 

•  d   (=  e,  on,  ai)              j 

1                           7. 

a  (  =  a,  ^,  a,    (o)i,    (o)i,                             1 

(o)e  )                                                 j 

a(=a,  a,  (o)i,  (0)1,  (o)g  )                         1 

a  {=  am,  an,  em,  en,  aon)                             ! 

§  64.  In  the  following  paragraphs  (§§  65-84)  the 
French  vowels  have  been  grouped  according  to  the 
position  which  the  tongue  occupies.  (See  p.  10.)  The 
16  vowels  will  be  given  in  the  foil  owing  order : 

1.  The  three  fundamental  vowels,  i  —  a  —  u,  §  65. 

2.  The  three  simple  front  vowels  with  "spread" 
lips,  i  —  e  —  8,  §  §  66-68. 

3.  The  three  corresponding  front  vowels  with 
"rounded"  lips,  y  —  ^  —  oe,^  69-72. 

4.  The  "  rounded  "  back  vowels,  u  —  o  —  o,  §  §  73-75. 

5.  The  two  a-sounds,  a  and  a,  §§  76-78. 

6.  The  "  weak  e  "  sound,  a,  §  79. 

7.  The  four  nasal  vowels,  e  —  &  —  a  —  o,  §§  80-84. 


Vowels  are  learned  best  by  comparing  them  with 
other  known  vowels.  Wherever  possible  every  French 
vowel  will  be  compared  with  the  English  vowel  that 
resembles  it  most  in  formation  of  tongue  and  lips. 


38 


VOWELS 


§  65.    THE   THREE   FUNDAMENTAL   VOWELS 


i  =  i,  i,  i',  y 


u  =  ou,  oH 


a  =  a,  &,  (o)i,  (o)i,  (0)6 


=  I 


THE  THREE  FUNDAMENTAL  VOWELS 


39 


i.  Tip  of  tongue  touching  lower  teeth.  Front  of 
tongue  raised  toward  hard  palate.  Lips  spread. 
(Mouth  too  wide  open  for  i  in  this  diagram.  For 
a  more  accurate  drawing  of  ^  see  §  66.) 

a.  Tip  of  tongue  barely  touching  lower  teeth.  Back 
of  tongue  raised  slightly  toward  soft  palate. 
Mouth  wide  open.  See  also  §  78. 

tt.  Tongue  drawn  back  and  raised  toward  soft  palate. 
Lips  rounded  energetically.  (Mouth  too  wide 
open  for  u  in  this  diagram.  For  a  more  accurate 
drawing  of  u  see  §  73.) 

For  i  —  a  —  u  the  tongue  occupies  the  three  extreme 
vowel  positions. 

i  and  ii  are  the  two  highest  vowels  (equally  high). 

a  is  the  lowest  vowel. 

£  is  the  most  advanced  vowel. 

u  is   farthest  back  of  all  vowels. 

For  position  of  lips  of  the  three  fundamental  vowels 
see  drawings  in  §  15,  page  9,  or  in  §  63,  1,  7,  4. 

The  position  of  some  of  the  other  vowels  has  been 
indicated  in  the  diagram. 

Exercise  15.  Pronounce  very  slowly.  Tongue  tense. 
Move  lips  energetically.  Hold  mirror  in  front  of  mouth. 
Do  not  stop  between  vowels. 


;  1. 

i\ —  a:  —  u:  —  ii- 

—  ai- 

—  u:  etc.      1 

!  ^• 

ai  —  i:  —  u:  —  ai 

—  ii- 

—  UI  etc.      I 

!  3. 

wi  —  a:  —  ii  —  UI 

—  ai 

—  ii  etc.      I 

Note.     The  lower  a  vowel  the  wider  open  is  the  mouth, 


40 


VOWELS 


THE   UNROUNDED   FRONT   VOWELS 
i  —  e  —  8 


§66. 


i  =  i,  h  ^,  y 


French  t  in  si 


EvoLiSH  Ji  IN  see 


Tip  of  tongue  toaches  lower 
teeth.  Front  of  tongue  raised 
higher  towards  hard  palate 
than  in  English.  Moacles  of 
the  tongue  tense.  Lipe  spread 
mnch  more  energetically  than 
in  English.  No  movement  of 
tongue  or  lips.  French  i  is  a 
pure  vowel.  (For  a  detailed 
description  of  the  difiference 
between  French  t,  e,  o,  u,  and 
English  7i,  ei,  ov,  uu,  see 
§  62  on  page  35.) 


Tip  of  tongue  touches  lower 
teeth.  Muscles  of  tongue  re- 
laxed at  first,  gradually  be- 
coming tense,  hence-  move- 
ment of  tongue.  Lips  drawn 
back  less  energetically  than 
in  French.  (Dotted  line  in- 
dicates movement  of  the 
tongue,  the  lips,  etc.  This 
movement  has  been  exagger- 
ated in  the  diagram  in  order 
to  show  more  plainly  the  dif- 
ference between  French  and 
English.)  English  /£  is  a  diph- 
thong. (In  England,  however, 
many  people  use  only  the 
pure  i.) 


THE  UNROUNDED  FRONT  VOWELS  41 

Exercise  16.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror.  ^ 


i'si  I     Ji'lip 
ici   ]  Philippe 


bisi'klist 
bicycliste 


prtiz 
prise 


liivr  .  fiij 
livre  1  fiUe 


ili'ziihl 
illisible 


Note.  English  /  as  in  sit,  give,  ill,  etc.,  does  not  exist  in 
French.  Avoid  this  English  sound  in  French  words  like  il, 
Philippe,  illisible,  etc. 


67. 


e  =  e,  e,  er,  ez,  ai,  oe 


Erench  e  IN  ete 


English  ei  in  hate 


Tip  of  tongue  touches  lower 
teeth.  Front  of  tongue  raised 
high  towards  hard  palate,  but 
not  so  high  as  for  French 
i.  Muscles  of  tongue  tense. 
Lips  spread  more  energeti- 
cally than  in  English.  No 
movement  of  tongue  or  lips. 
French  e  is  a  pure  vowel.  See 
also  §  62. 


Tip  of  tongue  touches  lower 
teeth.  Muscles  of  tongue  re^ 
laxed  at  first,  gradually  be- 
coming tense,  hence  upward 
movement  of  tongue.  Lips 
are  drawn  back  less  ener- 
getically than  in  French. 
(Dotted  line  and  arrows  in- 
dicate movement  of  tongue, 
lips,  etc.)  English  ei  is  a 
diphthong. 


42 


THE  UNROUNDED   FRONT  VOWELS 


Exercise  17.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


Ir^^u^rer 
r^^n6r6 
r^^D^rez 


ae'de  ;  j^  \ 

3«    ! 

te»; 

u^  ; 

ie^  S       don're 

c^der'.pied: 

rail 

[les! 

tea  : 

see  2  (]e)  donnerai 

c4d6  :      : 

K     I 

16  i 

th^: 

cea! 

c^es;        i 

geai; 

lez; 

t   1 

^    1 

NoTB.  Be  very  careful  not  to  use  the  English  diphthong  0/ 
(as  in  tray)  for  final  French  e,  in  words  like  M^  pied,  c6der,  etc. 
Final  vowel  sounds  are  short  in  French. 

Do  not  confound  e  ^ith  the  next  vowel  e.  For  e  the  tongue 
ia  higher  and  the  lipa  are  apread  more  energetically. 


S  68.      c  =  ^y  6,  e,  ai,  ei 


French  e  in  pire 


French  c  is  approxi- 
mately the  same  as  Eng- 
lish e  in  there,  but  lips 
are  drawn  back  more 
energetically  than  in  Eng- 
lish. Tip  of  tongue 
touching  lower  teeth. 
Front  of  tongue  raised 
towards  hard  palate,  but 
not  so  high  as  for  French  e. 
See  also  e  in  §  28. 


Exerdse  18.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


!  tre 
I  tree 

pre 
pr6s 

ba'le 
ballet 
balai 

belt 
Mte 



treiz 
treize 

meitj^ 
maitre 

!e:z 
chaise 

res'pe  \ 
respect  ! 

1  May  also  be  pronoimced  le  (lee),  te  (tes),  se  (ses,  ces). 


THE  ROUNDED   FRONT  VOWELS 


43 


Note.  Do  not  confound  s  with  e.  For  e  the  tongue  is  lower 
and  the  mouth  much  wider  open. 

Be  careful  not  to  use  the  English  diphthong  eJ  (as  in  tray) 
for  final  French  e,  in  words  like  trds,  ballet,  j' avals,  etc.  Final 
vowel  sounds  are  short  in  French. 

Learn  to  distinguish  between  i*,  e,  and  e  in  the  fol- 
lowing exercise. 

Exercise  19.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


1  pri 

pre 

pre    I 

I  i'si 

e'te 

8''mc     ! 

;  il  e'te 

di^e^re   \ 

[  prix 

pr6 

pr^s 

J  ici 

6t^ 

aim  ait 

1  il  ^.tait        ; 

\  dig^rait  I 

j  dz 

de 

di      \ 

I  rm 

me 

mi         1 

]  este'tik       1 

1  elve'si    * 

1  d6s 

des 

dis  ; 

1  mai 

mes 

mis        ] 

;  esth^tique  ; 

1  HelY^tie  j 

1  dais 

de 
d 

dit    1 

;  mets 
1  mais 

mit        I 
mie       1 

THE  ROUNDED  FRONT  VOWELS  i 

§  69.  1.  y-  Same  position  of  tongue  as  for  i,  but 
lips  are  rounded  very  energetically.     See  §  63. 

2.  ^.  Same  position  of  tongue  as  for  e,  but  lips  are 
rounded  energetically. 

3.  ce.  Same  position  of  tongue  as  for  e,  but  lips 
are  rounded. 

These  vowels  do  not  exist  in  English  and  are  mis- 
pronounced more  frequently  by  the  English-speaking 
people  than  most  other  French  sounds.  Before  at- 
tempting to  learn  them,  every  one  should  have  fully 
mastered  the  three  corresponding  front  vowels  without 
lip-rounding,  i  —  e  —  e. 

1  ce,  the  fourth  front  vowel  with  rounded  lips,  will  be  given 
with  the  other  nasal  vowels  in  §  81. 


44 


VOWELS 


§70. 


y  =  u,  d,  eu,  e(i 


French  i  ix  sire 


FRF.Vrn  V  TN  8ur 


Tip  of  tonfnie  touches  lower 
teeth.  Front  of  tongue  raised 
high  towards  hard  palate. 
Lips  spread  energetically. 


Same  potitimi  of  tongue,  but  lips 
are  rounded  Tery  energetically. 


Exercise  20.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


y   I  ly^ty'kry  \  fy'tyir  \      sy:r      \    yn  kyVhyi 

eu  I  lustucru  >   f utur   !  sur,  sdr  !  une  culbute 
—  J i '....1. L- 


Hold  mirror  in  front  of  mouth.  Say  a  long  »i(a8 
in  rive).  Then  round  your  lips  as  energetically  as 
possible  (as  for  t/).  Keep  them  in  this  "rounded" 
position  and  pronounce  or  rather  try  to  pronounce  i. 
If  the  lips  are  properly  rounded,  the  sound  obtained 
will  be  y  (as  in  sur  =  sy\r).  In  other  words,  y  is  merely 
an  I  with  lip-rounding. 

After  having  learned  the  sound  separately,  it  is  not 
hard  to  pronounce  it  correctly  in  practically  all  words. 


THE  ROUNDED  FRONT  VOWELS 


45 


Take  the  word  lysty^kry  (lustucru  =  simpleton).  Pro- 
nounce this  word  as  if  the  vowel-sound  were  i,  not  y, 
in  all  three  syllables,  i.e.  listi'kri.  Then  round  your 
lips  very  energetically  and  keep  them  rounded  while 
repeating  slowly  lis-ti-kri.  As  the  lips  are  rounded, 
you  will  in  reality  say  lysty'Tcry.  Before  and  after 
rounded  vowels,  consonants  are  usually  rounded.  You 
can  therefore  keep  the  lips  in  exactly  the  same  posi- 
tion for  the  whole  word.  Practice  y  in  the  same  way 
in  the  following  exercise.     See  also  §  63. 

Exercise  21.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


Lips 
spread 


si\r     \dur 
sire,  cire'dire 


mi\r 
mire,  myrrhe 


pi\r  \ 
pire| 


pis' til 
pistil 


si\d  I  ri\d 
cid  '  ride 


Same  word, 
but  lips 
rounded 


sy\r     \dy\r 
sur,  stir  [  dur 


my\r 
mur,  mur 


\py\r 
pur 


pys'tyl 
pustule 


syid\ry:d 
sud  Irudei 


Learn  to  distinguish  between  y  and  u  in  the  follow- 
ing exercise.  Both  vowels  have  the  same  position  of 
the  lips,  i.e.  they  are  rounded  energetically.  For  y 
the  front  of  the  tongue  is  raised  towards  the  hard 
palate,  while  for  u  the  back  of  the  tongue  is  raised 
towards  the  soft  palate. 


Exercise  22.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


y 


1        y        i;  pv'r 

!  front  vowel  1 1  pur 

syir      \     by     \     ry 
sur,  sur  [    but    j    rue 

ny 
nu,  nue 

syid    j 
sud    1 

u          \\  puir 
1  back  vowel  1 1 
i      (§73)      ii^"'^^ 

su\r      1     bu    1     ru 

,    !  bout  [   roue 
sourd      , 

boue      roux 

nu 
nous 

suid    1 
sonde  • 

46 


VOWELS 


§71 


^  =  eu,  eQ,  oeu 


French  e  in  bl6 


French  ^  in  blen 


Tip  of  tonfnie  touches  lower 
teeth.  Front  of  tongue  raised 
high  towards  hard  palate,  but 
not  so  high  as  for  t.  Lipa 
spread  energetically. 


Same   position  of    tongue,  but 
lips  are  rounded  energetically. 


Exercise  23.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


noeud 


heureose 


queue 
queux 


neutre 


deux  boeufs 


la  ^'n^iz  v^  d^'zj 
La  je(ineuse  veut  deux  oeufs. 


Practice  ^  in  the  same  manner  as  y,  Pronotmce  a 
long  e\  (e  as  in  th^  =  te).  Round  lips  energetically  and 
say  again  eu  The  sound  obtained  will  be  f^i,  as  the 
lips  are  rounded.  Practice  ^  also  in  the  word  ^^V^ 
(heureux).    Say  it  first  as  if  it  were  e»'re  (er^).    Round 


THE  ROUNDED  FRONT  VOWELS 


47 


lips  energetically  and  repeat  slowly  e'-'re.  Eemem- 
ber  that  the  lips  must  remain  in  the  same  position 
throughout  the  word.  Be  very  careful  not  to  give  your 
tongue  any  other  position  than  that  for  e.  Practice  ^  in 
the  same  way  in  the  following  exercise.     See  §  63. 

Exercise  24.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


1        Lips        1 
J      spread      I 

;       se       1   /e    '       ne 
\  ses,  ces  !  f^e  |  nez,  n^ 

ble 
bl6 

de 
des,  d6 

ke  \ 
quai   ; 

1  Same  word, ; 
!     but  lips     1 
1    rounded     j 

I     ceux     !  feu  |    noeud 

bleu 

d(/f 
deux 

k^  \ 
queue  1 

Learn  to  distinguish  between  ^  and  o  in  the  follow- 
ing exercise.  The  position  of  the  lips  is  the  same  for 
both  vowels,  i.e.  the  lips  are  rounded  energetically. 
Por  ^  the  front  of  the  tongue  is  raised  towards  the  hard 
palate,  while  for  o  the  back  of  the  tongue  is  raised 
towards  the  soft  palate.  Pronounce  the  two  sounds, 
^  and  o,  separately  before  practicing  them  in  the 
words  given  below. 


Exercise  25.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


i      ^      : 

1  front  vowel 

!  feu 

voeu 

boeufs 

peu 

d^ 
deux 

¥       i 

ceux      ! 

I          0          \ 
I  back  vowel ! 
i      (§  74) 

I   fo 
faux 

vo 

veau, 

vos,  vaux, 

vaut 

ho 
beau 
bau 
baud 

po 

pot 
peau 

do 
dos 

so        \ 

sot,  seau,   ! 
saut,  sceau  j 

See  also  Exercise  38,  page  57. 


\/ 


48 


VOWELS 


§72. 


ce  =  eu,  oe,  ceu,  ue 


French  e  in  sel 


French  as  in  seal 


Tip  of  tongue  touches  lower 
teeth.  Front  of  tongue  raised 
towards  hard  palate,  but  not 
so  high  as  for  e.    Lips  spread. 


Same   position  of  tongue,   but 
lips  are  loonded. 


Exercise  26.    Practice  aloud.    Use  mirror. 


8oel 
seul 


neuf 


peuple 


ce:r     \  mxir   \  oeij  ;  kce'Joeir 
heure  !  soBur  !  oeil  \  cueilleur 


Learn  ce  in  the  same  way  as  y  and  ^.  Say  a  long  ci 
as  in  meir  (=  mfere,  mer,  maire).  Round  your  lips 
and  repeat  ei,  keeping  the  lips  rounded.  You  will 
obtain  the  sound  ce:  in  this  manner.  Pronounce  the 
word  koe'jceir  (cueilleur  =  fruit-picker),  as  if  it  were 
ke'jeir.  Round  your  lips  and  repeat  the  word  slowly. 
As  the  lips  are  rounded,  you  actually  say  kce'joeir, 
Pi*actice  likewise  the  words  in  the  following  exer- 
cise.    See  §  63. 


THE   ROUNDED   FRONT  VOWELS 


49 


Exercise  27.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


1      sel 
Lips  spread  i;sel,selle, 

!  1     celle 

peir 

p^re,  paire, 

pair 

meir 

mer,  mere, 

maire 

seir  1  8ir  I  nsf 
cerf  1  6re  | 

Same  word,!!     ^^^ 

^""^^^l    ii     seul 
rounded    |; 

poeir 
peur 

moeir 
meurt 

soeir  I  oeir  |  noef 
soeur  |heure!neuf 

Learn  to  distinguish  between  oe  and  o  in  the  follow- 
ing exercise. 

Exercise  28.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


!          OS 

j  front  vowel 

j       poeir        1    koeir 
j                      1   coeur 
1                      1  choeur 

soel  !    hoeir 
seul  !  beurre 

oeir 
heure 

soeir  1 
soeur  1 

1            0 

1  back  vowel 

i       (§  75) 

I       poir        I    koir 
j  port,  pore,  [  corps 
!       pore        ;     cor 

sol   1    boir 
sol   !    bord 

oir 
or, 
hors 

soir  1 
sort  1 

See  also  Exercise  38,  page  57. 

Practice  the  three  sounds  together  in  the  following 
exercise.  For  y  the  lips  are  rounded  as  energetically 
as  possible,  for  ^  a  little  less,  and  still  less  for  oe.  The 
tongue  is  raised  very  high  towards  the  hard  palate  for 
2/,  less  high  for  ^,  and  still  less  for  oe. 

y 

Exercise  29.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


S2/ir,       s^,       sceir 
sur,     ceux,    soeur 


noef,       n^,        ny 
neuf,    noeud,    nu 


pyir, 
pur, 


peu. 


poeir 
peur 


50 


VOWELS 


THE   ROUNDED   BACK   VOWELS » 
u  —  o  —  0 


73. 


u  =  ou,  oQ 


French  u  in  doox  English  uu  in  do. 


Tip  of  toDgne  drawn  back. 
Maacles  of  tongue  relaxed 
at  first,  gradoally  becoming 
tense,  hence  movement  of 
tongue.  Lipe  only  slightly 
ronnded.  (Dotted  line  indi- 
cates movement  of  tongue, 
lips,  etc.  This  movement  has 
been  exaggerated  in  the  dia- 
gram in  order  to  show  more 
plainly  the  difference  between 
French  and  English.)  English 
<;u  is  a  diphthong.  (In  Eng- 
land, however,  many  people 
ose  only  the  pnre  u,) 

1  5,  the  fourth  rounded  back  vowel,  will  be  described  with 
^e  other  naaal  vowels  in  §  83. 


Tip  of  tongue  drawn  back. 
Back  of  tongue  raised  higher 
towards  soft  palate  than  In 
English.  Muscles  of  the 
tongue  tense.  Lips  rounded 
much  more  energetically  than 
in  English.  No  movement  of 
tongue  or  lips.  French  u  is 
a  pure  vowel.  See  also  §  62, 
on  page  86. 


THE   ROUNDED   BACK  VOWELS 
Exercise  30.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


51 


ku'ku 
coucou 


joujou 


tu'luiz 
Toulouse 


^u'krut 
choucroute 


puir 
pour 


See  also  Exercise  22,  page  45. 

Note.  English  u  as  in  put,  foot,  good,  etc.,  does  not  exist 
in  French.  Avoid  this  English  sound  in  such  French  words 
as  toute,  boulanger,  coucou. 


§74. 


0  =  0,  au,  eau 


PnENCH  0  IN  rose 


English  ou  in  rose 


Tip  of  tongue  drawn  hack.  Back 
of  tongue  raised  high  towards 
soft  palate,  hut  not  so  high 
as  for  French  u.  Muscles  of 
toDgue  tense.  Lips  rounded 
much  more  energetically  than 
in  English.  No  movement  of 
tongue  or  lips.  French  o  is  a 
pure  vowel.  See  also  §  62,  on 
page  35. 


Tip  of  tongue  drawn  back. 
Muscles  of  tongue  relaxed  at 
first,  gradually  becoming 
tense,  hence  movement  of 
tongue.  Lips  rounded  less 
energetically  than  in  French. 
(Dotted  line  indicates  move- 
ment of  tongue,  lips,  etc.) 
English  0^7  is  a  diphthong. 


52 


VOWELS 


Exercise  31.    Practice  aloud.    Use  mirror. 


ko'ko  !       bo 
coco  j  beau(x) 


0*9VtO 

auffiitAt 


o\p[ 
autre 


lOXM 

chose 


kOXM 


See  also  Exercise  25,  page  47. 

NoTB.  Be  very  careful  not  to  use  the  English  diphthong 
ou  (as in  "so  '*)  for  final  French  o,  in  words  like  coco,  beau, 
chaud,  etc.    Final  vowel  sounds  are  short  in  French. 

Do  not  confound  o  with  the  next  vowel  9.  For  o  the 
tongue  is  higher  and  farther  back  and  the  lips  are  rounded  more 
energetically. 


§75. 


D  =  o,  00,  au,  u(m) 


French  0  in  fort 


English  0  in  Ood 


Tip  of  tongue  teaches  lower 
teeth.  Back  of  tongue  raised 
towards  the  front  part  of  soft 
palate,  near  the  middle  of  the 
palate.  Tongue  lower  and 
more  in  front  than  for  French 
o.    Lips  rounded. 


Tip  of  tongue  drawn  back.  Back 
of  tongue  raised  slightly  to- 
wards back  part  of  soft  palate, 
much  farther  back  than  in 
French.  Mouth  fairly  wide 
open. 


THE  ROUNDED  BACK  VOWELS 


53 


Exercise  32,     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


mono'ldg     j   kozmopo'lit 
monologue  j  cosmopolite 


kronolo''si 
chroiiologie 


fd\r 
fort 


mow 
mort 


See  also  Exercise  28,  page  49. 

Instead  of  learning  French  o  by  comparing  it  with 
English  0  in  God,  it  can  also  be  learned  by  comparison 
with  the  vowel  sound  in  but.  Eound  lips  energetically 
and  pronounce  the  English  word  "but.''  The  word 
will  practically  sound  like  the  Erench  word  hot  (botte). 
The  tongue  should  be  drawn  back  slightly,  however. 

Note.  Avoid  the  use  of  the  English  diphthong  ou  (as  in 
''  so  ")  for  final  French  o  (or  o)  in  words  like  trop,  trot,  galop. 

Learn  to  distinguish  between  u,  o  and  o  in  the  fol- 
lowing exercise.  Lips  rounded  as  energetically  as  pos- 
sible for  n,  a  little  less  for  o,  still  less  for  o.  Tongue 
highest  for  u,  lowest  for  o. 

Exercise  33.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 

bo 
beau(x) 


nu 
nous 


no 
nos 


notr 
notre 


1  toir  '   to 
\  I 

'  tort  I  tat 


tu 
tout 


bu 
boue 
bout 


bot 
botte 


THE  TWO  ^-SOUNDS 
§  76.  a  — a 

There  are  two  a-sounds  in  Erench,  a  and  a.  They 
are  the  lowest  of  all  vowels.  Eor  a  the  tongue  is  more 
in  front  than  for  a.  Do  not  confound  a,  however,  with 
English  a?  as  in  cat.  a  is  called  a  front  vowel,  while 
a  is  called  a  back  vowel. 


54 


VOWELS 


§77. 


a  =  a,  4,  a,  e,  (o)i,  (o)I,  (o)6 


French  a  in  patte  English  as  in  pat 


Tip  of  tongue  touches  lower 
teeth.  Tongue  raised  only 
slightly  towards  hard  palate, 
near  the  middle  of  the  palate. 
Month  wide  open  and  some- 
times drawn  back  a  little  at 
the  comers. 


Tongue  higher  and  more  for- 
ward than  for  French  a. 
Mouth  not  so  wide  open.  (The 
vowel  sound  commonly  pro- 
nounced in  Northern  Euglaiid 
and  Scotland  in  such  words 
as  pat,  rat,  etc.,  is  practically 
the  same  as  the  French  sound 
in  patte,  rat,  etc.) 


Exercise  34.    Practice  aloud.    Uae  mirror. 


apa'nai$ 
apanage 


pana'  ma ; 
panama  ; 


vwa'la  la  'fam  | 
yoilk  la  femme  ! 


ma^dam 
madame 


para^graf 
paragraphs 


fa'ial 
fatal 


kra^nai 
crayate 


kama'tal   I  aba'twair 
camaval    !    abattoir 


kata'rakt 
cataracte 


la  'dam  ataka  la  gardma'lad. 
La  dame  attaqua  la  garde-malade. 


THE  TWO   A-SOUNDS 


55 


§78. 


a  =  a,  a,  (o)i,  (o)i,  (o)§ 


French  a  in  pas 


Tongue  farther  back 
than  for  a.  Mouth  wide 
open  and  not  drawn  back 
at  the  corners. 


Exercise  35.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


I  pa 

ka 

pa:j 

tais 

:  pad  1 

1  pa-s 

cas 

paille 

tasse 

paie  ; 

kais'nwa 
casse-noix 


pais'drwa 
passe-droit 


Learn  to  distinguish  between  a  and  a  in  the  follow- 
ing exercise.  For  a  the  tongue  is  more  in  front  than 
for  a. 

Exercise  36.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


a'ba 
abat 


la,  \k 


pat 
patte 


mal 
mal,  malle 


pal 
pal,  pale 


a'ba 
ah  bas 


la 
las,  lacs 


pa\t 
pate 


mad 
male 


pad 
paie 


56 


VOWELS 


THE  WEAK  £- SOUND 


§79. 


a  =  e  (on,  ai) 


French  a  in  ne 


English  a  in  Anna 


Tip  of  tougue  touches  lower 
teeth.  Middle  of  tongue 
raised  towards  middle  of  pal- 
ate.   Lips  roooded. 


Tongue  lower  than  for  French  9, 
Lips  are  not  rounded. 


Exercise  37.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


h  \  t9  "    k9 
le  I  te  ;  que 


S9'val 
cheval 


89'riig 
cerise 


Monsieur 


faisoDS 


See  also  §§  91-92,  elision  of  a. 

NoTB.     Do  not  raise  the  tip  of  your  tongue  for  9  ! 

Most  English-speaking  people  use  English  a  as  in 
Anna  or  better  for  both  ^  and  ce.  Learn  to  distinguish 
between  a,  ^,  and  oe  in  the  following  exercise.  See  also 
f  §  71-72. 


THE  WEAK  E-SOtJND 


67 


1.  a.  Tip  of  tongue  touches  lower  teeth.  Middle 
of  tongue  raised  towards  middle  of  palate.  Lips 
rounded. 

2.  ^.  Tip  of  tongue  touches  lower  teeth.  Front  of 
tongue  raised  high  towards  hard  palate  and  much  more 
in  front  than  for  d.     Lips  rounded  more  energetically. 

3.  02.  Tip  of  tongue  touches  lower  teeth.  Front 
of  tongue  raised  towards  hard  palate,  but  less  than 
for  ^.     Lips  rounded  as  for  a. 

Exercise  38.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


j     1 

1       2 

3      1 

i    ^ 

i      5      i 

6    i 

I        S9 

1      kd 

!    d9    ! 

I      3^ 

1         md         1 

nd      1 

\  se,  ce 

\     que     1 

!     de    I 

i    ^'^ 

1         me         1 

ne      ; 

i     s^ 

I    k^    i 

1     d(/>    \ 

i   3^ 

1         m^         1 

n^      i 

1   ceux 

;  queue  1 

I  deux  ] 

1     jeu 

;       meut       | 
1  [mouvoir]  ! 

noeud  } 

i    sce\r 

1    k€e\r    1 

1   doe\j    1 

1    3cen 

1       m(E\hl      1 

nmf    \ 

1  soeur 

1    coeur   ] 

!  deuil  ! 

1  jeune 

I      meuble      1 

neuf    1 

THE  FOUR  NASAL   VOWELS 
8  —  oe,  —  U  —  0 

With  nasal  vowels  the  air  passes  simultaneously- 
through  the  mouth  and  nose,  while  with  all  other 
vowels  the  air  passes  only  through  the  mouth.  This 
difference  is  caused  by  the  raising  or  lowering  of  the 
soft  palate.     Eeview  nasal  articulation,  §  13. 

Study  carefully  the  rules  in  §  100. 

--  over  a  vowel  indicates  that  the  vowel  is  nasal. 


58 


VOWELS 


§80. 


g  =  im,  iu,  en,  yni,  yn,  iiim,  ain,  eim,  ein 


French  e  in  tr^  French  g  in  train 


Tip  of   tonfi^e   loaches  lower      Tip  of  toogne  remains  on  lower 


teeth.  Front  of  ton^^ue  raised 
towards  hard  palate.  Pas- 
sage through  nose  closed. 
Air  passes  only  through 
mouth.    Lips  spread. 


teeth.  Front  of  totifnie  a  little 
lower.  Passage  through  nose 
open,  therefore  air  passes 
through  mouth  and  nose  si- 
multaneously.   Lips  spread. 


Exercise  39.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


!    5-'«tg    1    6ig    ;  Jiflg  i    mg    i     *gw    1  g-'«g   \ 
\  instinct  ;  bien  ;  loin  \  main  \  quinze  ;  indien  ; 

simple  ; 

•         /g         ;      mg''<^      1  Jnog  I    tiibx 

i    ^ 

rein(8) 
Rhin 

:    kri    I 
I    crin    j 
;  Grains  * 

i      <s 

!  teins,  teint 
j     tins,  tin 
j   thym,  tain 

vg          I            Sg 

vingt,  vin   |     sain,  saint 

vain,  vins  !   ceins,  ceint 

vainc(8)    j    sein,  seing 

pie 
plein 
plain 
plains 

pg     j 
pain    ; 
pin      ; 
peins  ! 

THE  FOUR  NASAL  VOWELS 


59 


§81. 


(B  =  um,  un,  eun 


French  ce  in  seul  French  ce  in  lundi 


tongue    touches    lower       Tip  of  tongue  remains  on  lower 


Lip  oi  loiigue  Loucues  luwer 
teeth.  Front  of  tongue  raised 
towards  hard  palate.  Pas- 
sage through  nose  closed.  Air 
passes  only  through  mouth. 
Lips  rounded. 


teeth.  Front  of  tongue  a 
little  lower.  Passage  through 
nose  open,  therefore  air  passes 
through  mouth  and  nose  si- 
multaneously.   Lips  rounded. 


Exercise  40.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


hrce, 
brun 


humble  I  aucun  I  lunch  i  comniun 


ver'dce  <  ^a'kde, 
Verdun  I  chacun 


l&'di 
lundi 


de'fds 
d^funt 


tce'ks't£n 
tungsten 


3G3 

(a)jeun 


md'lce 

Melun 


dGB'^kerk 
Dunkerque 


For  Ge  the  tongue  has  the  same  position  as  for  e,  but 
the  lips  are  rounded  for  ce  and  not  for  e. 

oe,  occurs  in  very  few  words  in  French,  but  it  is 
used  as  the  masculine  form  of  the  indefinite  article 
(un=(^);  hence  this  nasal  vowel  is  used  a  great  deal. 


60 


VOWELS 


§  82.      a  =  am,  an,  em,  en,  aon 


French  a  in  baa 


French  3  in  ban 


Tip  of  tongue  drawn  back  a 
little.  Bark  of  tongue  slightly 
raised  towards  soft  palate. 
Passage  through  nose  closed. 
Air  passes  only  through 
mouth.    Mouth  wide  open. 


Same  position  of  tongue.  Pas- 
sage through  nose  open,  there- 
fore air  passes  through  mouth 
and  nose  simultaneously. 
Mouth  wide  open. 


Exercise  41.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


enfant  •  pendant !  lentement 


a»'«a:6J 
ensemble 


changement !  lampe 


a'ja-t'ma 
enchantement 


entendement   •  transcendant ;  encensement 


sa 

da 

pa      i 

Jean 

dans 

paon     1 

gent 

dent 

pend(8)  ! 

gens 

dam 

pan     ; 

ta 

ka 

8a   : 

temps,  tan 

quand 

sans   S 

tant,  taon 

camp 

sang  ; 

tend(8) 

Caen 

cent   1 

va 

vent 

vend(8) 

van 


THE  FOUR  NASAL  VOWELS 


61 


83. 


5  =  om,  on 


French  o  in  bonne  French  5  in  bon 


Tip  of  tongue  touches  lower 
teeth.  Back  of  tongue  raised 
towards  soft  palate.  Passage 
through  nose  closed.  Air 
passes  only  through  mouth. 
Lips  rounded. 


Tip  of  tongue  drawn  back. 
Back  of  tongue  higher  and 
farther       back.  Passage 

through  nose  open,  therefore 
air  passes  through  mouth 
and  nose  simultaneously. 
Lips  rounded  more  ener- 
getically. 


Exercise  42,     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


pro 
prompt 


broiz   \ 
bronze 


tronc 


fro 
front 


trbip 
trompe 


6:kl 
oncle 


p^k'sjo 
fonction 


ho''bo 
bonbon 


po^'to 
ponton 


ko'^O'k'sjo 
conjonction 


k6's3'p'sjo 
consomption 


ko'po'k'sjo 
componction 


no 

bo 

ro 

mo     1 

ion 

bon 

rond 

mon   1 

lom 

bond 

romps 

mont  [ 

fo 
fond(s) 
font(s) 


do 
don 
dont 


koit 

conte,  comte 

compte 


62 


VOWELS 


Practice  the  four  nasal  vowels  together  in  the  fol- 
lowing exercise. 

Exercise  43.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


'i  • 

(k  1 1  brin  i  brun 

5  !,'  un  bon  vin 
•!      blano 


bra 


'tn 


6r3:z    '•        bjt,  15* 
I  ;; 

bran  |  bronze  n  blen  longtemps 


intention 


:&  'gra  'Ifi  mAx\  &  'di  da  ao'n  aUr, 

I 

!Un  grand  lion  mange  un  daim  dans  son  antre. 


§  84.  Compare  the  following  English  and  French 
words  which  are  alike  in  spelling  but  not  in  pronunciar 
tion.  In  many  cases  there  is  a  difference  in  meaning. 
In  the  English  words  m  and  n  are  regularly  pronounced 
after  a  vowel,  in  the  French  words  m  and  n  are  silent 
after  a  vowel.     See  also  §§  98, 100. 

Exercise  44.    Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


English  word 

;   son 

bran 

rang 

sang 

cent 

pain 

main 

French  word  1 
[  in  phonetics 

1  and  ordinary  ; 
spelling       1 

\    son 

bra 
bran 

ra 
rang 

sang 

9a 

cent 

J>2 

pain 

mg 
main  ; 

1  English  word  1 

;  camp 

singe 

saint 

coin 

point 

insUnct  1 

French  word  | 
1  in  phonetics  1 

!  and  ordinary  ; 
i       spelling       ; 

camp 

«&3 

singe 

saint 

coin 

point 

instinct  \ 

Do  not  pronounce  any  nasal  consonant  (m  or  n) 
after  a  nasal  vowel.     Except  in  liaison  a  nasal  vowel 


THE   FOUR   NASAL  VOWELS 


63 


is  not  followed  by  a  nasal  consonant,  although  we 
regularly  find  m  or  n  after  the  vowel  in  ordinary 
spelling.  In  bon,  for  instance,  we  pronounce  only  two 
sounds,  b  and  the  nasal  vowel  o.  Such  pronunciations 
as  the  English  "  bun  "  or  "  bong  "  are  ridiculous.  For 
the  pronunciation  of  final  m  and  n  in  liaison  see  §  88 
and  §  100. 

Learn  to  distinguish  between  a  nasal  vowel  and  a 
vowel  which  is  not  nasal  but  followed  by  a  nasal 
consonant.     Pronounce  pe — peirij  bo — borij  etc. 


Exercise  45.     Practice  aloud.     Use  mirror. 


Nasal  vowel.  !i  pe     i      65  >      S  J  d5        i        s5 

Final  m  or  n  !>  pain    '     bon  ]     an  !  don      j       son 

SILENT         ][  I  I  I  (done)    I 

Vowel  not    ij  pem    [     bon  [     am  I  don       \       son 

NASAL.         ;1  peine  I  bonne  I    3,ne  ]  donne    !    sonne 

Following     Ii  "  '  I  (donnes  i  (sonnes 

m  OR  n  IS     1 1  ;  |  I  donnent)  |  sonnent) 

pronounced    [I  I  I  "  I 

ii .'. ' , '. 

!'  me     '     pie  j      se  \  krcl      i       re 

T,,                        'i  main  !    plein  ;    sain  \  cran      '      reinCs) 

Nasal  vowel.  '                                      .  .  '  -r^-,  . 

-r,  II  samt  •  Khm 

Final  m  or  n  ,i  i  i        .  !  i 

II  I  I    sem  I 

silent             II  '  '         .  I 

II  I  1  seing  I  I 

!!  I  I   ceint  j  I 

Vowel  not    j[  meim  [  plem  \    sem  I  kram     |      rem 

nasal.         m  meme  I  pleine  I   saine  j  cr§,ne     I      r§ne 

Following     I'  j  plaine  j  sc6ne  ,'  i     reine 

m  OR  n  is     I!  |  I  Seine  j  | 

pronounced    !i  I  I  !  1 


PART  II.    HOW  TO  USE  THE  FRENCH 
SOUNDS   IN  CONNECTED  SPEECH 

GENERAL  RULES 

STRESS    (ACCENT ») 
§  85.  I.   Stress  in  a  Word 

In  French  the  last  syllable  of  a  word  is  usually  very 
slightly  accented.  Stress  (accent)  is  indicated  by  ' 
before  the  accented  syllable.  (Le  personnage  =  la 
per  80  'nai3,  ^^  pestilence  =  la  pes  ti  'ttlw,  la  nation  = 
la  na*  'sjoy  Tinfluence  =  te»  Jly  'fli*.) 

In  English  the  difference  between  an  accented  and 
an  unaccented  syllable  is  very  marked.  Sometimes 
unaccented  syllables  are  hardly  audible.  In  the  word 
"comfortable"  the  second  syllable,  -for-,  is  so  weak  that 
we  frequently  suppress  the  vowel  sound  altogether 
in  rapid  speech  (=  comf table). 

In  French  all  syllables  of  a  word  are  equally  strong 
except  the  last  one,  which  is  only  slightly  stronger 

*  Accent  in  ordinary  spelling  is  a  sign  over  a  vowel  (6,  6,  6). 
There  are  three  accents,  the  acute,  grave  and  circumflex. 
In  some  cases  these  accents  show  a  difference  in  pronunciation 
between  vowels  (6t6  =  e'te,  §tre  =  e:^r,  donnferent  =  do'neir)  ; 
in  other  cases  they  show  a  difference  in  meaning  between  two 
words  (ou,  oil,  la,  \k).  These  accents  never  indicate  stress. 
See  also  6,  6,  §,  in  §  106. 

64 


STRESS    (ACCENT) 


65 


than  the  others.  In  the  word  "  confortable  "  (=  A;5' 
for  'taxht)  the  first  two  syllables  are  practically  alike, 
while  the  last  one  ( ^taibV)  is  given  a  little  more  stress. 
This  stress  however  is  weak  in  comparison  with  the 
stress  on  the  first  syllable  of  the  English  word  "  com- 
fortable.'' 

Exercise  46.  Practice  aloud.  '  before  syllable  in- 
dicates very  weak  accent.  "  before  syllable  indicates 
strong  accent.     Syllables  without  sign  are  unaccented. 

Pronounce  each  English  word  with  the  correspond- 
ing French  word.  To  get  correct  accent  tap  hand  on 
table  or  foot  on  floor  for  each  accented  syllable. 


English 

French 

emplacement  =em"jpZe7sm9n« 

emplacement  =  ct^plas'md 

pneumatic  =  nju^msBtik 

pneumatique  =  pn^ma'tik 

pestilence  =  "pestildns 
omnibus  =  "omnihds 

pestilence  =pesti'la:s 
omnibus  =  omni'byis 

omnipotence  =j)m"nij9ai(  a  )ns 

omnipotence  =  omnipo'tdLxs 

hydrophobia  =  '/ia/(Z.«a'7*o  C7i>/9 

hydrophobie=  idrofo'bi 

nonsense  =  ^'nonsdus 

non-sens  =  no^'sdis 

commemoration  =  kd'mema- 

commemoration  =  komemo- 
ra^'sp 

hieroglyphic  ='hajdJ,o"gUfik 

hi^roglyphique  =  jerogU'Jik 

commencement  =  kd"mens- 
mdnt 

commencement  =  komcl's'md, 

comparison  =  kdm"p3euisdn 

comparaison  =  ko^pare^'zo 

If  a  word  is  emphasized,  the  accent  may  frequently 
be  shifted  from  the  last  syllable  to  one  of  the  others. 


66 


STRBSS   (ACCENT) 


EitrRATio  PioiriniciATioN 


beaucoup 
charmant 

impossible 


'boiJcH 
'tiposiibl 


The  "weak-e"  sound  (a)  is  never  accented.  (La 
renard  =  h  r(d)'?iair,  qu'est-ce  que  =  'kes  kd.) 

S  86.        II.   Stress   in  a  Sentence 

In  a  sentence  all  important  words  are  accented  on 
the  last  syllable,  or  on  one  of  the  other  syllables  if  a 
word  is  to  be  especially  emphasized.  (Elle  regarde  le 
professeur  =  tl  rd'gard  h  profe'aoRir.  C'est  charmant 
=s  8e  'Jiarma,  etc.) 

Exercise  47.  Practice  the  weak  French  accent  in 
the  following  sentences.  Take  one  sentence  at  a  time 
and  practice  it  about  ten  times  in  succession.  Tap  on 
floor  or  on  table  for  every  accented  syllable.  Practice 
aloud. 


Nous  la  regardons.  .     .     .  = 
Do  not  say:     .    .    .    . 

nil  la  r{9)gar*d5. 
l"nul9r9"ffardo.'] 

J'ai  f  erm6  la  ports.  .     .     .  = 
Do  not  say :     .     .    .    . 

Seferme  la  'port. 
[3«  "ferme  U  "port,'] 

Parlez-vous  fran^ais?   .     .  = 
Do  not  say :     .    .     .    . 

D  a  perdu  son  pardessus.  .  = 
Do  not  say :     .    .     .    . 

parle  vu  fra^' 9zf 
i"parle  vu  "fraisef] 

iljL  per'dy  so  pardo'sy. 
[i7  a  "perdy  so  "pardosy.] 

LIAISON 


67 


On  pardonne  aux  enfants.    = 
Do  not  say  :       .... 

Y  a-t-il  un  t^l^phone    public 

par  ici? = 

Do  not  say  :       .... 

0  par' don  oz  d^'/dl. 
[o  "pardon  o  "zdifa.^ 

j^a  t  il  ce  tele'foin  py'hlik 

par  i'sif 
l"ja  t  ii  ce  ^'teldfoin  ''pyhlik 

par  "isi?^ 

Tu  ne  fais  pas  attention!    .  = 
Do  not  say  :       .... 

Nous  avons  tons  bon  app^tit.  = 
Do  not  say  :       .... 

Le  gargon  a  fini  de  reciter.    = 
Do  not  say  : 

ty  w(a)  /e  'paz  at&^'sp  t 
[ty  nd  "fepaz  a"tcl\sjo  /] 

71UZ  avo  'tu\s  bon  ape'ti. 
l"nuz  ovo  ^'tu\s  bon  "apeti.l^ 

Id  gar' so  afi'ni  d{d)  resi'te. 
[Id  "garso  a  "fini  do  "resile.'] 

LIAISON 

§  87.  When  a  word  begins  with  a  vowel  or  h  mute 
it  is  frequently  linked  with  the  preceding  word,  unless 
a  pause  has  to  be  made. 

The  word  "  liaison  "  is  generally  used  to  indicate  the 
linking  with  the  following  word  of  a  final  consonant 
which  is  ordinarily  silent.  (E^=  e,  eii-\\  —  z't  il; 
nou^  =  nu,  nous  avons  =  nuz  a^vo.) 

The  word  "  liaison  "  ought,  however,  to  be  applied 
to  all  other  cases  where  a  final  consonant  sound  is  car- 
ried over  to  the  following  word  with  initial  vowel,  or 
even  to  cases  where  a  final  vowel  sound  is  connected 
with  the  initial  vowel  of  the  following  word.     (II  a  = 

i'l  a;  une  belWecole  =  yn  hzl  e'kol;  Louise/ Henri  = 
Iwi  e  di^'ri.) 

We  shall  first  consider  the  liaison  of  consonants 
which  are  ordinarily  silent  and  then  all  other  cases. 


.68  LIAISON 

§  88.     I.  Linking  of  Consonants  Which  Arb 
Okdinarily  Silent 

1.  In    French    final    consonants    are    usually    silent. 
They  are,  however,  frequently  pronounced  when  followed 
by  a  word  beginning  with  a  vowel  or  h  mute.     (U^  =  ce, 
un  an  =  ct'w  S;  ino^  =s-m5,  moa  X^bit  =  wi3w  a'bi;  \e/ 
=  /f,  les  Kommes  =  le'z  om.) 

2.  No  liaison  is  made  before  h  aspirate.  (Le/  hiboux 
«  le  i'bu ;  hieyL  hardi  =  bjt  a/di.)  No  stop  must  be 
made  between  the  two  vowel  sounds,  however. 

3.  The  t  in  et  is  never  linked  with  the  following 
word.    (Louis  eX  Henri  =  Iwi  e  ii*'ri;  un  crayon  ejif 

une  plume  =cc  krt'fi  e  yn  'plym,) 

4.  When  a  word  ends  in  two  or  more  consonants, 
usually  the  last  one  is  carried  over.  (E^t-il  =  t't  il; 
de  teaiG(s  en  temps  a  rfa  Ulz  d  't^;  sa^s  argent  a 
snz  ar'ia.) 

6.  The  consonant  which  is  carried  over  always  be- 
longs to  the  following  syllable.  (Nous  avons  un  ine 
as  nU'Z  a-vO'Z  ce-'n  am,)  In  English  we  find  similar 
cases :  an  ]io\iT  is  pronounced  a-nour. 

There  is  no  difference  in  pronunciation  between  un 
auteur  and  un  noteur  (ce-n  o'ioexr),  or  between  un  long 

qua!*  and  un  long  ais  (ce  D-'kt),  But  there  is  a  differ- 
ence between  les  z^ros  {le  ze*'ro)  and  les  h^ros  Qe  e^'ro)^ 
because  hiros  begins  with  h  aspirate.     See  §  88,  2. 

'  quai  may  also  be  pronounced  ke. 


LIAISON  69 

6.  In  liaison  plosives  are  generally  voiceless  (un 
grand  homme  =  ^  gra't  om),  fricatives  are  generally 

voiced  (les  arbres  =  le'z  arbr).  Exception  :  The  frica- 
tive J  remains  always  voiceless.  (La  vache  est  noire 
=  la  va\  8  'nwa\r.) 

7.  Liaison  is  made  less  in  conversation  than  in 
declamation.  It  is  better  to  make  too  few  than  too 
many  liaisons.  Link  words  only  when  they  belong 
logically  together.  Link,  for  instance,  pronoun  and 
verb,  article  and  noun,  adjective  and  noun,  etc. 
(Nous   avons  =  nuz   a'voj   les   hommes  =  le'z  om^   un 

petit  enfant  =  ce  ptit  S''/S.) 

But  do  not  say  :  Id  ^ne/  e  la  ^bu^  (le  ne^ et  la  bouche), 
ale/  o'z   o  (alle/aux  eaux), 

done  ma'i^  (E  'pij)  (donnez-m'eji'uD  peuV 
[Do  not  carry  over  the  consonants  which  have  been 
crossed  out.] 

§  89.      II.   Liaison  in  All  Other  Cases 

1.  When  a  final  consonant  sound  is  regularly  pro- 
nounced in  a  word  which  stands  alone  or  before  a 
pause  it  is  carried  over  and  is  pronounced  as  part  of 
the  following  word,  if  that  word  begins  with  a  vowel 
or  h  mute.      (Elle  =  eZ,  elle  a  =  eV  a.     La  chaise  = 

la  '\^\z^  la  chaise  est  grande  =  la  \2,\z  e  'graxd,     Cher 

[ch^re]  =  Jeir,  cher  ami  [chere  amie]  =  Jeir  a'mi.) 

f  Le  canif  est  sur  la  table.    [  ^  ^^^  ^®  carried  over  be- 
NoTE.  1  ,    ,    ,     ^  ,  i      cause  it  is  always  pro- 

W^kaln^f^ml^'t^H-       \     nounced  in  that  word. 


70  LIAISON 


(Le  crayon  est  but  la  table. 
l9  krc'jo  tgyrla  'taibj. 


n  must  not  be  carried  over 
because  it  is  ordinarily 
silent  See  also  §  88  on 
linking  of  consonants 
which  are  ordinarily  si- 
lent, especially  part  1 
and  7. 

2.  If  the  last  sound  (not  letter!)  of  a  word  is  a 
vowel  and  the  following  word  begins  also  with  a  vowel 
sound  (not  letter !),  no  stop  must  be  made  between  the 
two  words.  Connect  the  vowels  as  you  do  with  e  and 
A  in  create,  or  with  o  and  e  in  poetical.    (Qui  a  ^cout^  ? 

«  'ki  a  ekn'te  ?     Monsieu/  Henri  =  masjfi  n*'ri.     II 

-vxefiji  a  onz/  X^ures  =  U  'vjt  a  Wz  ceir.) 

Exercise  48.  Repeat  each  sentence  several  times 
until  it  can  be  pronounced  without  stopping  between 
words.    Practice  aloud. 


En  haut  et  en  bas.    U  est  en  Espagne.     II  aime  k  id^aliser. 
H  'o  e  a  *ba.         U  et  dn  et'paji.       U  eim  a  ideali''ze. 


U  ^crit  k  un  ami.    Je  les  ai  entendu(e)s.    £Ue  montre  k 
U  e'kri  a  chi  a'mL         ^  Uz  e  d'tS'^dy,  el  moitr  a 


lire  aux  enfants.     lis  ont  une  dispute  k  table.     J'ai  appris 
'liir  oz  (l''fH,       Uz  U  yn  dis'pyt  a   'taibl-       $e  apri 


avec  peine  que  vous  avez  eu  la  fi^vre  en  arrivant  k  Ypres. 
avek  'pern  ka  tuz  ave(z)  y  la  'JJeivr  An  ari'vd  a  'iipf. 


n  6tait  une  fois  un  harangueur  ennuyeux  et  importun. 
il  e'tet  yn  'fwa  ce  ara''gceir    S'nyv'j^    e    l*pDr't&. 


ELISION  71 

ELISION 
§  90.   In  Spelling. 

Ordinary  spelling  sanctions  elision  only  in  a  few 
cases. 

1.  The  letter  e  is  usually  elided  in  monosyllabic 
words  before  a  vowel  or  h  mute  (leTenfant,  k^homme, 
i/ai,  il  n^'est  pas). 

2.  The  letter  e  is  usually  elided  in  words  ending  in 
-que  before  a  vowel  or  h  mute  (lorsque^il,  quelqu^un, 
jusquj^^  a  .  .  .). 

3.  The  letter  a  is  elided  in  the  word  "  la  "  (not  in 
"la")  before  a  vowel  or  h  mute  (1^'encre,  lat'heure, 
ly'eau,  je  1^'ai). 

4.  The  letter  i  is  elided  in  the  word  si  before  "  il  " 
and  ''  ils  ''  (s/ils). 

§  91.    In  Pronunciation. 

In  pronunciation  many  more  elisions  occur,  espe- 
cially in  ordinary  conversation.  Most  important  of 
all  is  the  elision  of  the  "  weak-e "  sound  —  a.  The 
more  rapidly  a  sentence  is  pronounced,  the  more  fre- 
quently 9  is  dropped.  In  singing  a  is  rarely  dropped, 
in  reading  poetry  more  frequently,  in  careful  reading 
of  prose  still  more,  and  most  of  all  in  conversation. 
Beginners  ought  to  drop  the  a  sound  less  than  more  ad- 
vanced students.  In  the  first  passages  of  the  Phonetic 
Transcriptions,  pp.  98-111,  a  has  seldom  been  omitted. 

§  92.   Elision  of  a. 

1.  Final  a  is  dropped  regularly  before  a  pause  ex 
cept  in  monosyllabic  words. 


72 


ELISION 

BiroBB  A  Paum 

quatiy 
katx 

quatre  chais^ 
katr9  'lti9  "*  • 

la  tabl/ 
la  'taibl 

Ja  table  bleu/ 

fermez-l0 

Bur  le  banc 

ftrme  li 

«yr  U  'ba 

2.  Except  in  the  first  syllable  of  a  sentence  a  is 
dropped,  unless  by  this  elision  more  than  two  conso- 
nants are  brought  together.     See  also  p.  73,  section  3. 

EzampL«0 

tm  chffvdX  le  p^iit  MTfS  II  me  i/gaid/. 

S  'jval  h  p(i  'frctr  il  nw  r'gard. 

C^est  y  p^i/.  Je  d/  le  feriD^rai  pas. 

9t  I  'p€:r.  5*  II  U  fcnnre  'pa. 

>— ^  >-^ 

fi  mang^tout  c/qu*il  y  a  dans  1/gard^ manger. 
il  mO;$  'tu  i  kiVja  da  I  gard  ma^'y. 

Three  or  even  four  consonants  may  be  brought  to- 
gether if  the  third  consonant  is  /,  r,  w,  y,  or  j. 

rhomm/  que  if  \n\  monti^  dans  y  bois 

n  om  k9  5  l^i  'mbxti^  dOj  'bwa 

je  1/  crois     nous  1/  prenons       Nous  nff  f Iftnons  pas. 
X9  V'krvoa      nu  t  pn'nb  nu  n/lamb  'pa, 

dans  ]^  pnita 
da  I  'pyi 

In  a  few  cases  three  consonants  can  be  brought  to- 
gether if  the  first  consonant  is  /  or  r. 

Chefch/ mon  pain     parc^  qu*il  march^      sals^pareill/ 
/er/  mo  'p€,  pank  il  'mar!  aalspa'nij 


LENGTH  OF  SOUNDS  73 

3.  a  is  generally  pronounced  in  the  first  syllable  of 
a  sentence. 

Je  1^  preuds  regardez-moi  le  cli/val 

3d  I  'prd  rd garde  'mwa  Id  'Ival 

LENGTH  OF   SOUNDS 

§  93.  I.   Vowels 

The  French  language  is  very  inconsistent  as  regards 
length  of  vowels ;  therefore  few  practical  rules  can 
be  given.  The  rules  given  here  apply  only  to  words 
when  pronounced  separately.  '  In  many  words  where 
vowels  are  long  when  the  word  is  pronounced  sepa- 
rately, the  vowel  may  be  shortened  in  connected  speech 
if  the  word  is  unaccented.  Compare  English  "  he  "  in 
"  Not  he?  "  and  in  "  He  saw  us." 

Word  Alone  Word  Unaccented 

I  sur  I  sur  une  table 

1  sy\r  \  syr  yn  'taibl 

I  pour  J  pour  Penfant 

\pu\r  \pur  lU^'fU, 

\  after  vowel  indicates  that  vowel  is  long. 
»  after  vowel  indicates  that  vowel  is  half-long. 
Vowel  not  followed  by  any  sign  is  short. 

§  94.      Rules  for  Length  of  Vowels 

1.  Final  vowels  are  short,  (papa  =  pa^pa,  Parmee  = 
lar^me,  tu  =  ty,  ici  =  i^si,  ami(e)  =  a' mi,  beau  =  bo, 
ete  =  eUe.)  When  a  final  consonant  is  not  pronounced, 
the  preceding  vowel  is  to  be  considered  final,    (mo^  = 


74  LENGTH  OF  SOUNDS 

m3,  Je/=  le,  le  ne/:»U  'ne,  nou/  donnorf;^=  nn  d./iu, 
le  te^f<fi  =:  h  'tn,  mien/  =  mj^.) 

2.  When  a  final  consonant  is  pronounced,  the  preced- 
ing vowel  is  usually  short.*  (il  =  il,  cruel  =  kry'tly  mas- 
sif =  mn'sify  le  due  =  la  'dyk^  six  =  xi«,  amen  =  a^'mcn, 
le  nabab  =  U  na'baby  le  coq  =  I9  'A^)^•,  vif  =  vi/,  le  choc 
=  h  ^jjkf  le  true  =  U  'tryk^  islam  =  islam.) 

3.  9  (the  weak-e  sound)  is  always  short,  (le  =  h^ 
mener  =  ina'we,  j^etit  =  pyti,  demi  =  da'tni,  recevoir  = 
r9»yvtvair,) 

4.  Nasal  vowels  (r,  (P^  d^  5  =  ih,  irn,  en,  on,  efc.)  are 

a)  short  when  final  (dans  =:  dH,  bon  S3  63,  passion 

=  pa^'npy  Verdun  =  vcr'dai). 

b)  long  when  accented  [unless  final]  (il  mange  s 

il  'nUli5,  le  songe  =  h  '^^15,  ]a  lampe  s  la 
'Utipy  Toncle  =  hikl^  cinq  =5  a^ik,  humble  = 
ceibl). 

c)  half-long  when  unaccented  [unless  final]  (man- 

ger =  wd»'5e,  songer  =  «3*'3e,  lentemeut  = 
Ui*t'mH,  lundi=  li£*'di,  enfant  =  ac'/fl,  le  sym- 
bole  =a  h  se''6a/). 

5.  Vowels  are  long  before  final  -ge,  -re,  -se,  -ve 
(change  =  JfT:5,  sauvage  =  so'raij,  rire  =  nir,  la  rose 
s=  la  'rove,  la  brise  =  la  '6rti2,  chauve  =  joiv,  le  r6ve 
■B  /a  Ve:t\) 

6.  Vowels  are  long  or  short  before  final  -be,  -de, 
-gue. 

1  When  final  s  is  pronounced  the  preceding  vowel  is  usually 
long,  (bis  =  6i!«,  Tobus  =  Zo''6y:a,  as  =  a:a,  Agn^s  =  a'j\eis.) 
When  final  r  is  pronounced  the  preceding  vowel  is  long,  (sur 
=  syir,  cher  =  Jeir,  autour  =  c'tuir,  voir  =  vtoa:r,  la  soeur  = 
la  '«oe:r,  le  mur  =  I9  'myir,) 


SYLLABLES  75 

,        ,  [la'roih,  .      .-         lla^riid, 

la  robe  =     ,    ,    ,  la  ride  =    ,    ,  .' 

[  la  rob,  I  la  'rid, 


la  salade  = 


la  sa'laid,      le  f  ,    /,  s   'vaiq. 

7        n  ^       n  N^ague  =     b  (la)  , 
la  sa'lad,      (la)     ^  ^  'va^. 


§  95.  II.   Length  of  Consonants 

After  short  vowels  consonants  have  the  tendency 
to  be  longer  than  after  long  vowels.  The  difference 
between  a  long  and  a  short  consonant  is  not  as 
marked  as  with  vowels,  and  therefore  generally  it  is 
not  indicated. 


§  96.  SYLLABLES 

Syllables  ending  in  a  vowel  sound  are  called  open 
syllables,  (ici = i-'si,  manger = rndt'-'^e,  chanson = Ja^'-'s5, 
present  =  pre-'zdt,  envoyer  =  dt^-vwa-'je,)  Syllables  end- 
ing in  a  consonant  sound  are  called  closed  syllables 
(mange  =  wic!i3,  partir  =  par-'^ii?',  estime  =  es-'^im.) 
Whenever  possible  syllables  are  open  in  French. 

A  consonant  between  two  vowel  sounds  belongs  to  the 
second  syllable,  (ici  =  i-'si;  elephant  =  e-Ze-'/5;  lati- 
tude =  la-ti-tyd,  capable  =  ka-paibl) 

In  liaison  the  letter  which  is  "  carried  over  ^'  belongs  to 
the  following  syllable.     (lis  ont  deux  oncles  =  il-zo  d^- 

'zDikl;  les  homiRes  =  le-'zom ;   nous  sly ons  =  nu-za-^vo ; 

est-il  ici  =  e-ti-U-'sL)     See  also  Liaison,  §  88,  6. 

When  elision  of  a  vowel  takes  place  in  spelling  or  in 
pronunciation,  two  words  m^  form  one  syllable.     ( J'ai 


75  INTONATION 

Peau  ss  Tfi-'lo;  je  Pouvre  =  j^'luxvx;  dans  le  sac  =da^ 
'sak;  je  le  ferme  =  s^^'/erm;  qu'est-ce  que  c'est  que 
cela  [qa]  :=  ke^-k^-^dc-'aa.)    See  also  Elision,  §  92,  2. 

§  97.  INTONATION 

Correct  intonation  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  things 
to  acquire  in  any  language,  because  hardly  any  rules 
can  be  given  to  simplify  the  study  of  the  subject. 
The  only  way  to  learn  it  is  to  imitate  a  native's  into- 
nation or  to  listen  to  phonograph  records  and  to  repeat 
the  sentences  with  the  same  intonation. 

In  French  the  voice  "  rises  "  and  "  falls  "  much  more 
than  in  English.  Students  ought  not  to  keep  the 
voice  on  the  same  level,  but  ought  to  make  the  differ- 
ence between  high  and  low  very  marked. 

FINAL   CONSONANTS 
§  98.      Final  Consonants  in  Spelling 

Although  we  find  many  final  consonants  in  spelling, 
most  of  them  are  silent  except  in  liaison.  (gr(ji^  =  ^ro, 
peti/ss  pd'a*,  dray  a  (fra,  mo^  =«  mZ,  ne/  =*  ne,  mieu^ss 
mj^j  ley=/e,  e/sse,  ^=  c,  nou/=3  n?e,  tejiij^ss  ts,) 

Final  c,  f,  1,  q  are  usually  pronounced,  (duc=s  dykj 
actif  =  ak'tif,  il  =  i7,  coq  ^kok. 

Final  r  is  generally  pronounced  except  in  the  infini- 
tive of  the  first  conjugation,  (finir  =/'niir,  dormir 
=  d)r'mi:r,  cher  =  Je:r,  fxer^Jjeir,  bonheur  =  tynosir, 
QT=Dir;  [exception:  monsieur  =  ma's;^^].  Infinitive 
of  the  first  conjugation :  donnef^=  do'ne,  mange/= 
7nd*'^ey  avance/=s«va •'«€.) ' 


FINAL  CONSONANTS 


77 


§  99.     Final  Voiced  Consonant  Sounds 

In  English  a  word  is  strong  at  the  beginning  and  weak 
at  the  end.  In  the  word  "  tease,"  for  example,  "  t '' 
and  "ea"  are  strong  while  the  "z"  sound  (=se)  is 
weak.  As  a  result  the  "  z ''  sound  instead  of  being 
completely  voiced  is  partly  voiceless  (=  z«). 

In  French  the  end  of  a  word  is  nearly  always  strong, 
and  therefore  final  voiced  consonant  sounds  must  be  com- 
pletely voiced,  not  partly  voiceless.  When  a  French- 
man pronounces  the  word  "rose"  (=roiz)j  it  sounds 
as  if  he  added  a  short  a  ("  weak-e  "  sound)  to  the  final 
z  (ro\z^). 

Exercise  49.  Say  the  following  words  aloud 
(slowly !)  and  compare  them  : 


English 

aid    = 

eid* 

cave  = 

kervf 

age    = 

eid'z} 

rose  = 

JbOVZ^ 

Exercise  1 

50.     Pronour 

getically  as 

possible. 

ballade 

=  haHad 

corde 

—  kord 

Meuse 

=  m^iz 

pause 

=  poiz 

change 

=  jai5 

sauvage  =  so'vai^ 

salade 

=  sa!la{\)d 

rage 

=  Tax's 

prestige  =pr^8^  til's 


French 

aide  = 

eid^ 

cave  = 

kaiv^ 

age    = 

ai3' 

rose  = 

roiz^ 

consonants  as  ener- 

robe 

=  ro(i)b 

ride 

=  rili)d 

vague 

=  va{\)g 

r^ve 

=  reiv 

brise 

=  briiz 

plombe 

=zpldib 

chose 

=  joiz 

plonge 

=:pldiS 

dommage  =  do'mais 

PRONUNCIATION  OF  LETTERS  OF  THE  ALPHA- 
BET, LETTER  COMBINATIONS,  PREFIXES  AND 
ENDINGS 

§  100.    RULES  FOR  NASAL  VOWELS 

Vowels  are  nasal  only  when  they  come  before  '*  m  ^'  or 
"  n." 

When  ••m"  or  "n"  is  final  or  when  followed  by 
another  consonant,  it  indicates  that  the  preceding  vowel 
is  nasal.  In  such  a  case  ^^  m  *'  or  "  n  "  must  not  be  pro- 
nounced, except  in  liaison. 

Examples :      tejiips  a  tS;  copipte  a  k?>:t;  boi/aB  bo; 
bla^c  =  bin  ;        so^  =  «3  ;        \xji=  6e. 
In  liaison:  son  ami  =  sjn  a'mi;  un  homroe  =  ct^i  om. 

When  "m"  or  **n"  it  followed  by  a  vowel,  or  before 
<*mm"  or  "nn*',  the  preceding  vowel  is  not  nasal  and 
«  m  *'  or  **  n ''  must  be  pronounced. 

Examples :   ami  =  a'mi  ;    une  =  yn  ;    bonne  =  bon; 
comment  =  ko'mSL;  femme  ^fam. 

The  rules  given  below  for  the  pronunciation  of 
all  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  are  by  no  means  ex- 
haustive. With  some  letters  it  is  hard  to  give  any 
definite  or  practical  rules.  This  is  true  especially  of 
the  vowels.  Wherever  there  are  exceptions  to  the 
rules  only  the  most  common  ones  have  been  given. 


PRONUNCIATION  Of  LEMfiRS 


n 


I-} 


a. 

c« 

II 

rS 

-tJ 

II 

Pi 

rt 

d 

C3 

.^ 

a. 

^ 

c« 

c« 

i^H 

II 

II 

u 

ci 

0) 

f^ 

o 

1 

.^ 

-§  11 

5 

h 

•S.-I 

^ 

r— t 

OQ 

1 

^ 

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NUMERALS 


95 


§  127.  PRONUNCIATION   OF  NUMERALS 

For  most  numerals  from  1-20  there  are  two  or  three  different 
pronunciations.  This  depends  on  whether  they  stand  alone,  be- 
fore a  word  beginning  with  a  vowel,  or  before  a  word  beginning 
with  a  consonant.  (Six  =  sis.  Six  enf  ants  =  siz  d''fcl.  Six  livres 
=  si  'liiv^.)  Before  months  the  numerals  keep  their  original 
pronunciation.    20  (vingt)  is  very  irregular.    See  also  80,  81,  82. 


Spelling 

Alonk 

Before 

Bkfobb 
Con- 

Spelling 

Peonun- 

Vowel 

sonant 

CIATION 

1 

Un,  une 

ce,  yn 

an,  yn 

a,2/n 

30 

trente 

trait 

2 

deux 

d^ 

d^z 

d^ 

40 

quarante 

ka'rait 

3 

trois 

trwa 

trwaz 

trwa 

60 

cinquante 

se-'kctit 

4 

quatre 

katr 

katr 

'katr9 

60 

soixante 

swa's&it 

5 
6 

cinq 

six 

seik 
sis 

se:k 
siz 

se 
si 

70 

soixante-dix 

swascl't- 
'dis 

7 

sept 

set 

set 

se 

80 

quatre- 

ka'trsve 

8 

huit 

yit 

%lit 

yi 

vingts 

9 

neuf 

ncef 

noRV 

nee 

81 

quatre- 

katr9- 

10 

dix 

dis 

diz 

di 

vingt-un 

ve^ 

11 

onze 

o\z 

oiz 

oiz 

82 

quatre- 

katrd- 

12 

douze 

duiz 

duiz 

duiz 

vingt-deux 

ve'df^ 

13 

treize 

treiz 

treiz 

treiz 

90 

quatre- 

katrd- 

14 

quatorze 

ka'torz 

ka'torz 

ka'torz 

vingt-dix 

ve'dis 

15 

quinze 

keiz 

keiz 

keiz 

100 

cent 

sa 

16 

seize 

seiz 

se:z 

seiz 

101 

cent  un 

sa^ 

17 

dix-sept 

dis'set 

dis' set 

dis'se 

o 

mil,  mille 

\demi'1oe 

18 

dix-huit 

di'ziiit 

di'zuit 

di'z'qi 

o 

un  millier 

19 

dix-neuf 

diz'noef 

diz'ncev 

diz'ncB 

'"' 

20 

vingt 

ve 

vet 

ve 

o 

21 

vingt  et 
un 

VE'tjjB 

ve'tj^n 

ve^te^ 

g 

un  million 

ce  mi'lj^ 

22 

vingt- 
deux 

ve-t'd^ 

vM'di^z 

vM'd^ 

fH 

■■I 


3. 
4. 


Le  premier  .  . 
la  premiere  .  . 
le  (la)  deuxi6me 
le  second  .  .  . 
la  seconde  .  . 
le  (la)  troisifeme 
le  (la)  quatri6me 


l9  prg'mje 

la  prd'mjeir 

h  (la)  d^^'zjem 

h  »9'go 

la  Sd'goid 

Id  (la)  trwa''zjem 

h  (la)  katri'em 


96    PRONUNCIATION   OP  THE  ALPHABET  ETC. 


§  128.  -Z 

UWCIATION  OP 

129.  P«^^^ 

^  *^^'       DAYS 

NCIATION  OP  THE 

I  Alphabbt 

OP  THB  WBBK 

a 

a 

dimanche 

dVmail 

b 

be 

lundi 

Uk^'di 

0 

ae 

mardi 

mar^di 

d 

de 

mercredi 

merkrd'di 

e 

e 

jeudi 

l^^'di 

f 

e/ 

vendredi 

va^dra'di 

g 

3« 

samedi 

sam'di 

h 

i 

ka 
tl 
em 
en 

i 

J 

k 

fi  tOi\    PRONUWCUTIOH  OF  TH« 
*  **<*                    MOHTHS 

1 

m 
n 

Janvier 
f^vrier 
mars 

fevri'€ 
mara 

o 

P 

0 

pe 
Icy 

e\r 
es 
te 

y 

ve 

dublave 

iks 

avril 
mai 

a'vri(l) 
me 

T 
8 
t 
U 
V 

w 

X 

juin 

juillet 

ao(it 

3y>  (3Yt» 
u  (a'u) 

septembre 
octobre 
novembre 
d^cembre 

ae(pytaibr 
ok'tobr 
no'vUibjr 
de'a&ibr 

y 

igrek 

z 

zed 

PART   III.     PHONETIC   TRANSCRIP- 
TIONS FOR   ORAL  PRACTICE 

Prose 
§§  132-137  :   Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation,  pp.  98-111.. 
§§  138-142  :   Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading,  pp.  112-123. 
§§  143-144  :   Rapid  conversational  pronunciation,  pp.  124-133. 

Poetry 
§§  145-149  :  Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation,  pp.  134-141. 

§  131.     NOTES  ON  THE   PHONETIC   TRANSCRIP^ 
TIONS 

1.  In  the  beginning,  drill  on  one  sentence  at  a  time. 
Eepeat  each  sentence  at  least  ten  times  in  succession, 
at  first  very  slowly,  gradually  increasing  the  speed. 
It  is  better  to  practice  one  sentence  ten  times  than  to 
read  ten  sentences  only  once.     Always  read  aloud. 

2.  Eeview  rules  for  liaison  (§§  87-89),  for  elision 
(§§  90-92)  and  for  accent  (§§  85-86). 

3.  The  sign  between  words  indicates  that  no  stop 
must  be  made  between  words.  It  is  generally  used 
where  beginners  would  be  apt  to  make  a  pause. 

4.  The  endings  -le,  -me  and  -re,  after  a  consonant, 
vary  in  their  pronunciation  according  to  their  position. 
Before  a  pause  the  consonant  is  voiceless  and  e  is 
silent :  C'est  la  table  =  ss  la  ^taibl.  Before  a  vowel 
the  consonant  is  voiced  and  e  is  silent:  Je  montre 
un  crayon  =  39  moitr  oe,  kre^jo.  Before  a  consonant 
both  the  consonant  and  the  vowel  are  pronounced  :  La 
table  de  mon  frere  =  la  taibh  d(9)mdfreir;  Je  montre 
men  crayon  =  3a  moitra  m6  kre^jo.    See  also  §  §  91-92, 

97 


98  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

PROSE 
§  182.  LA  SALLE  D£  CLASSE 

Le  professeur :   C'est  le  livre.    C'est  la  chaise.    C'est 
le  crayon.    C'est  un  livre.     C'est  une  table.    C'est 
une  fendtre.    Qu'estrce  que  c'est  que  cela,  mon- 
6         sieur  Roche? 
M.  Roche  :   C'est  un  crayon. 

Le  profetteor:   Oui,  c'est  juste.  —  Je  montre  le  mur. 
Voici  le  mur.    Mademoiselle  Lebrun,  montrez  le 
mur. 
10  Bfiie  Lebrun  :   Voici  le  mur. 

Le  professeur :   Oui,  c'est  exact  —  Je  montre  la  porte. 
Voili  une  porte.  Montrez  la  porte,  madame  Didier. 
Bff™«  Didier :   Voil4  la  porte. 

Le  professeur :   Non,  c'est  faux.     Ce  n'est  pas  la  porte, 
16         c'est  la  f enfitre.  —  Voici  un  livre,  voici  deux  livres. 
II  y  a  deux  livres  sur  la  table.     Combien  de  livres 
y  a-t-il  sur  la  table,  Henri  ? 
Henri :   II  y  a  deux  livres  sur  la  table. 
Le  professeur :  C'est  qa.  —  Void  un  crayon.     Oil  est  le 
20  crayon,  Henriette  ? 

Henriette :   Le  crayon  est  sur  la  table. 
Le  professeur:   C'est  juste.     II   est  sur  la  table. — 
Voili  trois  crayons.     Ou  sont  les  crayons  ? 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  99 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

PROSE 
§  132.  la  'sal  dd  'klais 

h  profe'soeir:  se  Id  'liivr,  se  la  '^eiz,  se  Id  kre'jo. 
set  6e  Hhvr.  szt  yn  'taibl,  set  yn  fd'neitr.  kes  ka 
Sik  'sa,  masj^  'raj  ? 

masj^  VoJ ;   set  oe  kre'jo,  5 

Id  profe'soeir:  'loi,  se  '^yst.  —  39  '7noitrd  h  'my\r, 
vwa'si  Id  'myir,   madmwa'zel  Id'bro^,  mo'tre  Id  'myir, 

maclmica'zel  Id'hrae :   vwa'si  Id  'myxr, 

la  profe'soeir:  'wi,  set  eg'zakt,  —  39  'moitrd  la  'port, 
vwa'la  yn  'port,     mo'tre  la  'port,  ma'dam  di'dje,        10 

ma' dam  di'dje :   viva'la  la  'jjort, 

la  profe'soeir:  'no,  sc  'fo,  sd  ne  pa  la  'port,  se  la  fd'neitir, 
— vwasi  'oe  'liivr,  vwasi  'd^  'liivr.  ilj  a  'd^  'liivi*d  syr 
la  'taibl,     ko^'hje  da  'liivr  j  atil  syr  la  'taibl,  dL^'ri  f 

a''ri:  ilj  a  'd^  'liwra  syr  la  'taibl,  15 

la  profe'soeir:  se  'sa,  —  vwa'si  oe  kre'jo,     u  e  Id  kre'jo^ 

a^'rjet  f 
dt''rjet:   Id  kre'jo  e  syr  la  'taibl. 
Id  profe'soeir :    se  '^yst,     il  e  syr  la  'taibl.  —  vwa'la  'trwa 

kre'jo,     u  'so  le  kre'jo  f  20 


100  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

Un  ilhve  :   Les  crayons  sont  sur  la  chaise. 

Le  professeur :  Ce  n'est  pas  juste.  Les  crayons  ne 
sont  pas  sur  la  chaise,  ils  sont  sur  le  livre.  —  Je 
regarde  la  porte.  Eegardez  la  porte.  Regardez  le 
6  crayon.  Monsieur  Roche  regarde  la  porte,  11  ne 
regarde  pas  le  crayon.  —  Le  prof esseur  est  grand, 
la  table  est  grande.  Le  crayon  est  petit,  la  plume 
est  petite.  Les  professeurs  sont  grands;  les 
tables  sont  grandea.  Les  crayons  sont  petits  et 
10         les  plumes  sont  petites.  —  Comment  est  la  table  ? 

Une  dhrt :  La  table  est  «  grand  ». 

Le  prof  esseur ;   Mais  non !    La  table  n'est  pas  c  grand  », 
elle  est  grande.  —  H^p^tez :  La  table  est  grande, 
le  professeur  est  grand. 
15  Les  ^^ves:  La  table  est  grande,  le  professeur  est 
grand. 

Le  professeur :  Qu'est-ce  que  c'est  que  cela,  C^cile  ? 

C^ile :   Ce  sont  deux  plumes. 

Le  professeur :  Qui,  ce  sont  deux  plumes.     Combien  de 
20         plumes  y  a-t-il  sur  la  table,  J^mile? 

Emile :   Je  ne  sais  pas,  monsieur. 

Le  professeur :    R^pondez,  mademoiselle  Dupin. 

Mile  Dupin :    II  y  a  quatre  plumes  sur  la  table. 

Le  professeur :   C'est  Qa. 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  101 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

Sen  e'leiv :   le  kre'jo  so  syr  la  '^eiz. 


la  profe'scBir:  sd  m  ^pa  '^yst,  le  Icre'p  nd  so  'pa  syr 
la  ^l^\Zy  il  'so  syr  Id  'liivr.  —  39  rd'gard  la  'port* 
rdgar'de  la  'port,  rdgar'de  Id  kr^'jo,  mdsj^  'ro\ 
rd'gard  la  'port,  il  na  ragard  'pa  la  kre'jo.  —  la  pro- 5 
fe'scBir  e  'grclj  la  'taibl  e  'graid,  la  kre'jo  e  pa'ti,  la 
'plym  e  pa' tit.  le  profesoeir  so  'grU;  le  taibla  so 
'graid.  le  kre'jo  so  pa'ti  e  le  'plym  so  pa' tit.  —  ko'mU  e 
la  'taibl  f 

yn  e'hiv :    la   'taibl  e«'gra».  10 


la  profe'soeir:    'mei  'no!  la  'taibla  ne  pa  n'grd)),  el  e 
>„_• 

'graid.  —  repe'te:   la  'taibl   e'grdtid,  la  profe'soeir  e 
'grU. 
lez  e'leiv :    la  'taibl  e  'graid,  la  profe'soeir  e  'gra. 

la  profe'soeir:  kes  ka  sek  'sa,  se'sil  f  16 

se'sil :   sa  so  'd^  'plym. 

la  profe'soeir :  'wi,  sa  so  d^  'plym.     ko'bje  da  'plym  j  at  il 

syr  la  'taibl,  e'mil  f 
e'mil :  3a  n(a)  'se  pa,  ma'sj^. 

la  profe'soeir :  repo^'de,  madmwa'zel  dy'pe.  20 

madmwa'zel  dy'pe:   il  j  a  'katra  'plym  syr  la  'taibl. 
la  profe'soeir :   se 'sa. 


102  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

§  133.  MAXIMES 

L'amour-propre  est  le  plus  grand  de  tous  les  flatteurs. 
Le  mal  que  nous  faisons  ne  nous  attire  pas  tant  de 
persecution  et  de  haine  que  nos  bonnes  quality. 
6     Ceux  qui  s'appliquent  trop  aux  petites  choses  de- 
yiennent  ordinairement  incapables  des  grandes. 

II  est  plus  honteux  de  se  d^fier  de  ses  amis  que  d'en 
dtre  tromp^. 

On  ne  donne  rien  si  lib^ralement  que  ses  oonseils. 
10     On  ne  loue  d'ordinaire  que  pour  ^tre  lou^. 
L-      II  n'appartient  qu'aux  grands  bommes  d'avoir  de 
grands  d^fauts. 

Le  d^sir  de  paraltre  habile  empdehe  souvent  de  le 
devenir. 
16     Nous  aimons  toujours  ceux  qui  nous  admirent,  et 
nous  n'aimons  pas  toujours  ceux  que  nous  admirons. 

II  y  a  dans  la  jalousie  plus  d'amour-propre  que 
d'amour. 

On  pent  6tre  plus  fin  qu'un  autre,  mais  non  pas  plus 
20  fin  que  tous  les  autres. 

Les  yieux  fous  sont  plus  fous  que  les  jeunes. 
On  ne  se  bl&me  que  pour  §tre  lou^. 

Francois  de  La  Rochefoucauld. 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  103 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

§  133.  ma'ksim 

lamuxr  'propr  e  Id  'ply  'grot  dd  'tu  le  fla'toeir. 

Id  'mal  kd  nufd'zo  na  nuz  a'tiirpa  Ha  dd  perseky'sjo  e  dd 
'em  kd  no  'bon  kali'te, 

's^  ki  sa'plik  Hro  o  pd'tit  ^oiz  dd^vjcu   ordineir'mSS 
E'ka'paibld  de  'grUid. 

il  8  'ply  d''t^  dd  sd  de'fje  dd  sez  a' mi  kd  dWn  eitra 
tro^'pe. 

0  nd  don  'rje  si  liheraVwxl  kd  se  ko^'seij. 

0  nd  'lu  dordi'mir  kd  pu'r  eitrd  'Iwe.  10 

il  napar'tje  ko  'gr^'z  om  davwair  dd  'grS,  de'fo. 

Id  de'ziir  dd  pa'reitr  a'bil  dt^'peil  su'vdt  dd  Id  dd- 
v(a)'mir. 

nuz  e^'mo  tu\u\r  's6  ki  nuz  ad'miir,  e  nu  ne^mo  'pa 
tu'^uir  's^  kd  nuz  admi'ro,  15 

il'j  a  ddt  la  ^alu'zi  ply  damuir  ^proprd  kd  da'muir, 

0  p^'t  eitrd  ply  '/e  koe'n  oitVy  me  no  'pa  ply  'fe  kd  'tu 
le'z  oitr. 

le  'vj^  'fu  so  'ply  'fu  kd  le  '302/1. 

3  nd  Sd  ^blaim  kd  pu'r  eitrd  'Iwe,  20 

frU^'swa  dd  la  rojfu'ko. 


104  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

§  134.  LA   FRANCE 

(Lettre  du  comte  de  Chesterfield  k  son  fils.) 

La  FraDce  est,  k  tout  prendre,  le  plus  beau  pays  de 

PEurope :  car  il  est  tr^  grand,  tr^s  ricbe,  et  tr^s  fer- 

6  tile ;  le  climat  est  admirable,  et  il  n'j  fait  jamais  trop 

chaud,  comme  en  Italie  et  en  Espagne:  ni  trop  froid, 

com  me  en  SuMe  et  Danemarck.     Ce  royaume  est 

bom^  au  nord  par  la  mer  qui  s'appelle  la  Mancbe ;  au 

sud  par  la  mer  M^terran^.    La  France  n'est  s^pa- 

10  r^e  de  Pltalie  que  par  les  Alpes,  qui  sont  de  grandes 

montagnes,  couvertes  de  neige  la  plus  grande  partie 

de  I'ann^ ;  et  les  monts  Pjr^n^es,  qui  sont  encore  de 

grandes  montagnes,  la  s^parent  de  I'Espagne. 

Les  Franqais,  en  g^n^ral,  ont  beaucoup  d'esprit ;  ils 
15  sont  aussi  tr^s  braves. 

L'ile-de-France 

Paris,  la  capitale  de  tout  le  royaume,  est  dans  Plle- 
de-France;  elle  est  situ^  sur  la  riviere  de  Seine. 
G'est  une  grande  ville,  mais  pas  si  grande  que  Londres. 

20      §  135.  LE   TABAC 

Les  anciens  ne  connaissaient  pas  le  tabac :  c'est  une 
plante  originaire  d'Am^rique  et  dont  les  Europ^ens 
font  usage  depuis  moins  de  trois  si^cles.     Elle  est 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  105 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

§  134.  la  'Mis 

('letra  dy  'koit  da  (t)lester'Jild  a  so  'Jis,) 

la  'frais  e,  a  tu  'praidrdy  h  2)ly  'ho  p^H  da  I  oe!rop: 
Tear  il  e  tre  'gra,  tre  'nj,  e  trefer'til;  la  kli'ma  et  admi- 
'raibl,  e  il  ni  fe  ^a'me  tro  '^o,  kom  an  ita'li  e  an  es'pa]i :  5 
711  tro  'frwa^  kom  a  'siieid  e  dan' mark,  sa  rwa'joim  e 
hor'ne  o  'noir  par  la  'meir  ki  sa'pel  la  'maij;  o  'syd  par 
la  'meir  meditera'ne.  la  'frais  m  sepa're  da  lita'li  ka 
par  le'z  alp,  ki  so  da  'graid  mo^'taji,  kuvert  da  'nei3  la 
ply  'grdlid par'ti  da  la'ne;  e  le  'mo  pire'ne,  ki  sot  d^'koir  10 
da  'gra\d  mo^'taji,  la  se'pair  da  les'paji. 


le  frdi^'sBy  dt  ^ene'ral,  0  bo^'ku  des^pri,  il  sot  o^si  tre 
'braiv. 

'Ill  da  'frdtis 
pa'riy  la  kapi'tal  da  'tu  la  rwa'joim,  e  da  'lil  da  'frais;  15 
d  e  si'tiie  syr  la  ri'vjeir  da  'sem.     set  yn  fgraid  'vil,  me 
'pa  si  'grUxd  ka  'loidr. 

§  135.  lata'ba 

lez  dt^'sje  na  kone'se  pa  la  ta'ba :    set  yn  'pldlit  ori'^i'neir 
dame'rik  e  'do  lez  oerope'efot  y^zai^  dapy^i  'mwe  da  'trwa20 
'sjeikL     el  et  a'nyel,  0    la  'semi  0  komd^s'mU  dy  pre^'tdt, 


106  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

annuelle,  on  la  s^me  au  commencement  du  printemps, 
puis  on  la  transplante  dans  iin  sol  pr^par^,  on  en  coupe 
le  sommet  pour  s'opposer  k  la  floraison,  ne  laissant 
qu'une  dizaine  de  feuilles  k  la  tige.  On  Tarrache  lors- 
6  qu'elle  est  mOre  et  on  la  fait  s^her.  Ensuite  on  met 
ces  tiges  en  monceaux  pendant  une  ou  deux  semaines 
pour  leur  faire  subir  une  esp^ce  de  fermentation. 
C'est  alors  qu'on  d^tache  les  feuilles  pour  en  faire  des 
bottes,  les  r^unir  en  carottes,  les  r^uire  en  poudre,  les 
10  toumer  en  cigares  et  enfin  les  couper  et  laminer. 

§  136.  LA   FONTAINE 

A  Chateau-Thierry,  dans  TAisne,  vivait  au  dix- 
septi^me  si^cle  un  excellent  homme  de  moeurs  fort 
simples,  qui  ^tait  charg^  d'inspecter  les  eaux  et  for^ts. 

16 II  passait,  en  effet,  une  grande  partie  de  son  temps 
dans  les  bois.  II  restait  tout  songeur  sous  un  arbre 
pendant  des  heures  enti^res,  oubliant  souvent  le 
moment  de  diner,  ne  s'apercevant  pas  parfois  de  la 
pluie  qui  tombait.     II  jouissait  du  plaisir  d'etre  dans 

20  la  campagne,  il  regardait  et  observait  tons  les  animaux ; 
il  s'int^ressait  aux  allies  et  venues  de  toutes  les  bStes 
des  champs,  grandes  ou  petites.  £t  les  animaux  lui 
faisaient  penser  aux  hommes ;  il  retrouvait  dans  le 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  107 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

prii  0  la  trdt's'plctit  dd,z  de  'sol  prepa're,  on  3  *kup  Id  so'me 
pursopo'^ze  a  laflo^re^'zo,  no  h'^sdt  kyn  dv'zein  do  'foeij  a 
la  'tii^.  0  la'raj  lorskd  e  'myir  e  o  la  'fe  se'Je.  U^'syit 
0  'me  se  tii^2  md''so  pdt'ddt  'yn  u  'd^  5(a) 'mein  pur  loeir 
'feir  sy'biir  yn  es[pes  do  fermSt^ta''sjd.  set  a'loir  ko5 
de'taj  le  'foeij  pur  3  'feir  de  'bot,  le  rey'niir  U  ka'rot,  le 
re'dtiiir  U  'puidr,  le  tur'ne  S  si'gair  e  di^'fe  le  ku'pe  e 
lami'ne. 


§  136.  lafo^Hen 

a  \a'to  tje'rif  ddt  7ein,  vVve(t)o  dis'setjem  'sjeikl  dm  ek-  lo 
se'Wt  om  do  'moer(s)  'foir  'seipl,  ki  ete  Jar'se  de'spek'te 
le'z  o  efo're,  il  pa^'se,  Une'fe,  yn  'grctid  par'ti  do  so  Hdi 
del  le  'bwa,  il  reste  'tu  so^'^oeir  suz  os'n  arbro  pU'dd, 
de'z  oeir  S,*'tje:r,  ubli'ct  su^vct  lo  mo'mdt  do  dv^ne,  no  saper- 
so'va pa  par'fwa  do  la  'pliii  ki  to^'be,  il  ^wi'se  dyph^'ziir  15 
deitro  d(l  la  ka^'paji,  il  rogar^de  e  opser've  tu  lez  ani'mo; 
il  sMere'se  o'z  ale  e  vo'ny  do  'tut  le  'beit  de  'lU,  'grdiid  u 
po^tit,  e  lez  animo  liiifo'zepdt^'se  o'z  om;  il  rotru've  dU  lo 


108  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

renard  la  ruse,  dans  le  loup  la  f^rocit^,  dans  le  chien 
la  fid^lit^y  dans  le  pigeon  la  tendresse.  II  composait 
alors  dans  sa  t^te  de  petdts  r^cits  dont  les  personnages 
^talent  des  animaux,  des  fables  oh  parlaient  le  oorbeau, 
6  le  renard,  la  cigale  et  la  fourmi. 

Vous  avez  reconnu  ce  grand  podte  dont  vous  ap- 
prenez  les  fables  par  coeur,  La  Fontaine.  C'est  un  des 
^riyains  qui  ont  immortalise  notre  langue :  on  lit  ses 
fables  partouty  on  les  traduit  partout,  on  les  apprend 
lopartout  Elles  sont  pleines  d'esprit,  de  grftce,  de 
naturel,  et  en  mSme  temps  elles  montrent  aux  hommes 
les  d^fauts  dont  ils  devraient  se  corriger. 

6.  Bbuno,  Le  Tour  de  la  France. 

§  137.  PREMIERES  ETUDES 

15  On  me  conduisait  tons  les  matins  avec  Lucile  chez 
les  soeurs  Couppart,  deux  vieilles  bossues  habill^s  de 
noir  qui  montraient  k  lire  aux  enfants.  Lucile  lisait 
fort  mal.  On  la  grondait;  je  griffais  les  soeurs: 
grandes  plaintes  port^es  k  ma  m^re.     Je  commenqais 

20  k  passer  pour  un  vaurien,  un  r^volt^,  un  paresseux,  un 
kae  enfin.  Ces  id^es  entraient  dans  la  t^te  de  mes 
parents:  mon  p^re  disait  que  tous  les  chevaliers  de 
Chateaubriand  avaient  ^t^  des  fouetteurs  de  li^vres, 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  109 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

ra'nair  la  'ryiZy  dU  h  'lu  la  ferosVte,  ddt  h  'J)e  lajideli'te, 
dd,  Id  pV'^o  la  tll'^dres.  il  kd'po'*ze{t)  a'loir  da  sa  'teit  dd 
p(d)ti  re'si  do  leperso'nai^  ete  dez  anVmo,  de  'faibl  u 
par'le  Id  kor^Oj  h  rd^nair,  la  si' gal  e  la  fur'mi, 

vuz  ave  rdko'ny  sd  'grdt  po'eit  do  vuz  aprd'ne  le  ^faibld  6 
par  ^koeir,  lafo^'ten,  seH  de  dez  ekri've  ki  ot  imortaWze 
notrd  'laig :  o  'U  se  'faibld  par'tu,  o  le  tra'dyi  parHu,  o 
lez  a'prct  parHu,  el  so  'phin  des'pri,  dd  'grais,  dd  naty- 
'rel  e  ci  'meim  'tdt  el  moitr  o'z  om  le  de'fo  dot  il  dd^vre  sd 
kori'^e.  10 

'36  hry^no,  Id  'tuir  dd  la  ^frSis. 

§  137.  prd'mjeirz  e'tyd 

9  md  ko'dyi'zz  tu  le  m£te  avek  ly'sil  \e  le  ^soeirku^pair, 
'd^  'vjeij  bo'sy  ahi'je  dd  'nwair  ki  mo^'tre  a  'U\r  oz  cL^^dt, 
ly'sil  li'ze  fo\r  'maL  0  la  gro^'de;  39  gri^e  le  'sceir.'is 
'grUid  'pleit  por'te  a  ma  ^meir.  39  komct'^se  apa^^se 
pur  ce  vo^Wje,  ce  revol'te,  ce  pare's^,  defn  am  S»'/e. 
sez  i'de  a^^tre  ddt  la  'text  dd  me  pa' ret :  mo  'pe\r  di'ze  kd 
'tu  le  IdvaVje  dd  la'tohri'a  avet  e'te  de  fwe'toair  dd  'Ijeivr, 


110  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

des  iyrognes  et  des  querelleurs.  Ma  m^re  soupirait  et 
grognait  en  voyant  le  d^sordre  de  ma  jaquette.  Tout 
enfant  que  j'^tais,  le  propos  de  mon  p^re  me  r^yoltait : 
quand  ma  m^re  couronnait  ses  remontrances  par  I'^loge 

6  de  mon  f r^re,  qu'elle  appelait  un  Caton,  un  h^ros,  je  me 
sentais  dispose  k  faire  tout  le  mal  qu'on  semblait  at- 
tendre  de  moL 

Mon  mattre  d'^eriture,  M.  Despr^,  k  perruque  de 
matelot,  n'^tait  pas   plus  content  de  moi  que  mes 

10  parents ;  il  me  faisait  copier  ^ternellement,  d'apr^s  un 
exemple  de  sa  fa^n,  ces  deux  vers  que  j'ai  pris  en 
horreur : 

C'est  k  vous,  mon  esprit,  k  qui  je  veux  parler; 
Vous  avez  des  d^fauts  que  je  ne  puis  celer. 

16  II  accompagnait  ses  r^primandes  de  coups  de  poing 
qu'il  me  donnait  dans  le  cou,  en  m'appelant  tite 
d'achocre;  voulait-il  dire  achore?  Je  ne  sais  pas  ce 
que  c'est  qu'une  tdte  d'achocre,  mais  je  la  tiens  pour 
effroyable. 

20  Fban90I8-Renk  de  Chateaubriand, 

M^moires  d'outre-tombe. 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  111 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

dez  i^vroji  e  de  kdre^loeir.  ma  ^meir  supfre  e  giv^jie  d, 
vwa'jdi  Id  de'zordrd  dd  ma  ^a^ket,  'tut  U^'fU  kd  se'^e,  Id 
pro'po  dd  mo  'pe\r  ma  revoVte :  kd,  ma  'meir  kuro'm  se 
Tdmo'^trQis  par  le'loi^  da  mo  'freir,  kd  a'ple  ce  ka'to, 
ce  e'Vo,  3a  md  sW't^  dispo^'ze  a  yei7'  Hu  Id  'mal  kd5 
$(l''hU{t)  aHUxdrd  dd  'mwa, 

mo  'meitrd  dekri'tyWy  mdsj^  dzs'pre,  a  p^'ryk  dd  ma'tlo, 
nete  'pa  ^ply  ko^'tct  dd  'mwa  kd  me  pa' r a;  il  m.d  f^'z^ 
ko'pje  etzrmVmU,  da'pre(z)  den  eg'zdtipld  dd  safa'so,  se  'd(^ 
'veir  kd  36  'pri  din  o'tcext  :  10 

set  a  'vu,  mon  zs'pri,  a  ki  59  'v^  par'le; 
vuz  a've  de  de'fo  kd  3a  n(a)  'p^i  sd'le, 

il  ako'pa'jie  se  repri'mSid  dd  kit  d(d)  'pwe  kil  md  do'ne 
dS  Id  'ku,  a  ma'plQ  'teit  da'kokr;    vulet  il  'diir  a'koirf 
3a  n(a)  'se  pa  s(a)  kd  'se  kyn  'text  da'kokr,  me  3a  la  'tje  15 
pur  efrwa'jaibl, 

frW'swa  rd'ne  dd  ja^tobri'dl 
me'mwair  duitrd  'toib 


112  PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

§  138.  RAISON   ET   POUMONS 

Moli^re  ^tait  fort  ami  du  c^l^bre  avocat  Fourcroi, 
homme  tr^s  redoutable  par  la  capacity  et  la  grande 
^tendue  de  sea  poumons.  lis  eurent  une  dispute  k 
Stable  en  presence  de  M.  Despr^ux.  Moli^re  se 
tourna  du  cdt^  du  satirique,  et  lui  dit:  cQu'est-ce 
que  la  raison  contre  une  gueule  oomme  cela?» 

§  139.  UNE   REPARTIE 

Un  sot  raillait  \in  bomme  d'esprit  sur  la  longueur 

10  de  ses  oreilles  :  c  U  est  vrai,  lui  r^pondit  la  personne 

raill^,  j'ai  des  oreilles  trop  grandes  pour  un  bomme ; 

mais  convenez  aussi  que  vous  en  avez  de  trop  petites 

pour  un  ftne.» 

§  140.  LE  VIOLON 

16     11  ^tait  une  fois  un  monsieur  qui  jouait  du  violon. 
Ce  monsieur  avait  un  fils  qui  se  nommait  Justin, 
et  le  petit  garqon  ^tait  bien  beureux  quand  son  papa 
lui  jouait  des  airs  de  sa  connaissance,  tels  que  Mal- 
brouck,  Le  roi  Dagobert,  Au  clair  de  la  lune. 

20  Alors  Justin  cbantait,  et  le  p^re  accompagnait 
doucement  la  petite  voix  sur  le  violon.  C'^tait  tr^s 
joli,  et  ne  semblait  pas  du  tout  difficile. 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  113 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

§  138.  re''zd  e  pu'md 

moVjzir  ete  'foir  a  W  dy  se'leibr  avo'ka  fuir^krwa,  'om 
tre  r(d)du'taibld  par  la  Jcapasi'te   e  la  'graid  etW^dy  d  se 
pu'mo.     ilz  y'r(t)  yn  dis'pyt  a  ^taibl   a  pre'zotis  dd  mdsj^ 
despre'o.     moVjeir  s(d)   tur'na  dy  ko^'te   dy   sati'rik  e5 
lili  'di:  «'keskd  la  re''zd  koitr  yn  'goel  kom  'sla  ('sa)?» 

§  139.  yn  rdparHl 

ce  'so  ra'j^  ce'rz  om  des'pri  syr  la  lo'^goeir  d  sez  o'reij : 
«il  e  'vre,  l^i  repo^'di  la  person  ra'[je,  36  dez  o'reij  'tro 
'graid  pur  de!n  om;  me  ko'vne  o''si  k{d)  vuz  an  ave  dlO 
'tro  pHit  pur  ce'n  am,  » 

§  140.  h  vjo'lo 

il  etet  yn  'fwa  oe  md'sj^  ki  '3108  dy  vjo'lo. 

sd  mo'sj^  avet  ce  'Jis  ki  s  nome  ^ys'te,  e  I  pti  gar' so  ete 
'bje  ^''r^kdt  so  pa' pa  h[i  '^ive  de'z  eir  d  sa  kone'sdtis,  tel  15 
kd  mal'bruk,  h  rwa  dago'beir,  0  khir  dd  la  'lyn. 

a'loir  ^ys'te  ja^'te,  e  I' peir  ako'pa'jie  dus'ma  la  ptit 
'vwa  syr  1(d)  vjo'lo,  sete  'tre  ^o'liy  e  n  sWbh  'pa  dy  tu 
difi'sil. 


114  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

Le  papa  n'avait  qa'4  placer  le  haut  da  yiolon 
entre  son  menton  et  sa  poitrine ;  prendre  le  manche 
de  I'instrument  dans  sa  main  gauche,  dont  les  doigts 
touchaient  les  cordes  Tune  apr^s  Pautre;  puis  de 
6  la  main  droite  prendre  I'archet,  et  le  promener  sur 
le  milieu  des  cordes,  comme  ceci:  en  haut,  en  has, 
en  haut,  en  has.  £t  le  violon  chantait  tout  ce  qu'on 
voulait!  Cela  paraissait  si  simple,  si  facile  k  ex6- 
cuter,  que  I'enfant  youlut  jouer  k  son  tour. 
10  c  Donne,  mon  p^re,  lui  dit-il,  donne  ton  violon 
que  je  joue :  Au  clair  de  la  lune,  mon  ami  Pierroti 

Le  p^re  donna  son  violon,  et  le  petit  gan^n  le 

posa  tr^s  adroitement  comme  il  avait  yu  son  p^re: 

le  haut  entre  le  menton  et  la  poitrine,  le  manche 

15 dans  la  main  gauche,  Parchet  dans  la  main  droite; 

une !  deux !  puis  il  joua !  .  .  . 

Mais  quelle  affreuse  chose  on  entendit!  Au  lieu 
du  joli  chant  qu'on  lui  demandait,  le  violon  ne  fit 
que  grincer,  ronfler,  crier,  grogner,  hurler!  .  .  . 
20  Cela  d^chirait  si  horriblement  les  oreilles  que  le 
petit  garqon,  tout  effray^,  courut  rendre  le  violon 
k  son  p^re  en  lui  disant : 

cMais,  papa,  que  faut-il  done  faire   pour  qu'un 
violon  chante  de  beaux  airs? 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  115 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

b  pa'pa  n  ave  ka  pla'se  h  'o  dy  vjo'lo  Si^ra  so  mWHo  e 
sa  pwaHrin;  'prdtidra  I  'mSiJ  d  Wstry^mdL  dS  sa  me 
'goij,  do  le  'dwa  tu^le  le  'kord  'lyn  apre  'loitr;  pyi  d  la 
me  'drwat  prU\drd  Zar'Je,  e  I  prom^ne  syr  1(d)  mVlj^  de 
'kordf  kom  sa^si:  ct'o,  S  'ba,  S'o,  S  'ba,  e  I  vjolb  fa'7e5 
Hu  8  ko  vu*h  !  sla  parese  'si  'seiply  si  fa'sil  a  egzeky'tCy 
kd  IdL'^fd,  vuly  '^we  a  so  'tuir. 


^'don,  mo  'peiVy  lyi  dVt  il,  'don  to  vjo'lo  k  3a  '^u:  o 
khir  dd  la  'lyn,  mon  ami  pje^'ro,  » 

Id  'peir  do'na  so  vjo'lo,  e  I  pti  gar' so  I  po''za  'tre(z)  a- 10 
drwat'mU  kom  il  ave  'vy  so  'peir:  Id  'o  Sitrd  I  mU^'to  e  la 
pwa'trin,  h  'm^ij  ddt  la  me  '^01  J,  lar'je  dU  la  me  'drwat; 
'yn  !  'd6 1  pvi  il  '^wa  /  .  .  . 

me  kel  a'fr^iz  'joiz  on  d,HdL''di!  0  Ij^  dy  '^oli  'jS  ko  lyi 
dmdi''dey  Id  vjo'lo  n   'fi  kd  gre^'se,  ro^'fle,  kri'e,  gro' j^e,  15 
yr'le!  .  .  .  sdla  de^i're  si  oribh'mU  lez  o'reij  ka  I  pti 
gar'sOf  tu(t)  efre'je,  kury  'rdLidrd  I  vjo'lo  a  so  'pzir  (t  lyi 
di'zS : 

« 'me,  pa'pa,  kd  'fot  il  do  ^eir  pur  kZ  vjolo  'Idlit  dd 
'bo'z  eirf  20 


116  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

—  C'est  bien  simple,  mon  enfant,  r^pondit  le  ptee, 
il  faut  apprendre  k  le  faire  chanter. » 

Morality 
Apprendre  k  rtfcrter  son  esprit  par  les    plaisirs 
6d^icat8  qui  Pennoblissent,  pour  ne  point  succomber 
k  la  tentation  des  plaisirs  grossiers  qui  I'abrutissent 
et  le  d^gradent 

§  141.  ROLAND 

Les  chansons  de  geste  racontent  que  Charlemagne 

lOrentrait  en  France,  apr^s  avoir  d^fait  les  Sarrasins 
d'Espagne,  tandis  que  son  arri^re-garde,  ob,  se  trouvait 
Roland,  traversait  encore  le  d^fil^  de  Roncevaux,  dans 
les  Pyr^n^s.  Les  Sarrasins  la  surprirent  et  I'exter- 
min^rent  malgr^  les  prodiges  d'h^rolsme  de  Roland, 

iSd^Olivier,  de  Tarchevfique  Turpin  et  des  autres  pairs, 
leurs  compagnons. 

D^s  le  d^butde  I'attaque,  Olivier  avait  suppli^  Roland 
de  sonner  de  I'oliphant  afin  que  Charlemagne  fiit  ainsi 
pr^venu  du  danger  qu'ils  couraient.     Mais,  emport^ 

jsopar  rhabitude  de  vaincre,  Roland  n'en  voulut  mal- 
heureusement  rien  faire,  et  Olivier  lui  disait  fort 
justement  un  peu  plus  tard  :  Folie  n'est  pas  courage ! 
Quand  tout  fut  k  peu  pr^s  perdu,  Roland  se  d^cida  k 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  117 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

—  se  'bje  'seipl,  mon  a^^fa,  repo^di  I  'peir,  il  fo{t)  a'prai- 
dr  a  I  few  \a'He.  » 

moraliHe 
a'praidr  a  rekre'e  son  es'pri  par  le  ple^^ziir  deli'ka  hi 
I  dtmo'blis,  pur  n(d)  'pwe  syko^'be  a  la  tdi'ta^'sjo  de  ple^'ziir  5 
gro^'sje  ki  labry'tis  e  I  de'grad, 

§  141.  ro'm 

le  ja'so  d^^est  ra'koit  kd  larh'map.  ra^tre  dt  'frais^ 
aprcz  avwair  de'fe  le  sara'ze  des^paji,  ta'di  k  son  arjeir- 
'gardy  u  s  trwve  ro'lU,  traver'se  W'koir  I  dejVle  d  ro\8'vo,  IG 
dM  le  pire'ne.  le  sara^ze  la  syr'priir  e  lekstermi'mir 
malgre  lepro'dii'^  dero'ismd  d  ro^la,  doli'vje,  dd  larldveik 
iyr'pl  e  dez  o\  trd  ^peir,  loer  k^'pa'jio. 


^de  I  de'by  d  Wtak,  oli'vje  ave  syjjli^e  ro'lct  d  sone  d  loli- 
y%  afe  k  jarh'maji  fy(t)  e'si  pre'vny  dy  dW^^^e  kil  Zcw-iS 
Ve.  'me,  Wpor'te  par  labityd  dd  'veikr,  ro'la  nU  vu'ly 
maloe>'r(^'z'ma  'rjt  'f^\r^  e  oWvje  ly^i  di'ze  fo\r  ^ystd^ma  da 
p^  ply  ^tair:  fo'li  m  pa  ku^rai'^ !  kU  'tu  fy(t)  a  p(j>  prz 
pzr'dy^  ro'lct  s  desi'da  a  so'ne,  e  il  i  mi  'tS  dvi/goeir,  kd  I  'sU 


118  PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

sonner,  et  il  7  mit  tant  de  vigueur,  que  le  sang  lui 
sortait  des  oreilles,  et  que  les  veines  de  ses  tempes  en 
^lat^rent  Puis,  d^sesp^r^,  11  voulut  briser  son  ^p^ 
Durandal ;  mais  le  roc  se  fend  it  sans  ^br^cher  I'^p^e. 
6  Cependant  Charlemagne  avait  compris  les  appels 
lugubres.  II  s'^ria  tristement :  Ce  cor  a  longue  ha- 
leine  !  Roland  est  en  p^ril !  et  revint  en  h&te  au  secours 
de  ses'  preux.  Mais  il  arriva  trop  tard.  L'oliphant 
s'^tait  tu,  et  les  pairs  ^taient  morts. 

10     §  142.  L£   SINGE 

Un  yieux  singe  malin  ^tant  mort,  son  ombre  desoen- 
dit  dans  la  sombre  demeure  de  Pluton,  oh.  elle  demanda 
k  retourner  parmi  les  vivants.  Pluton  voulait  la 
renvoyer  dans  le  corps  d'un  ftne  pesant  et  stupide, 

15 pour  lui  dter  sa  souplesse,  sa  vivacity  et  sa  malice; 
mais  elle  fit  tant  de  tours  plaisants  et  badins,  que 
Finflexible  roi  des  enfers  ne  put  s'empdcher  de  rire, 
et  lui  laissa  le  choix  d'une  condition.  Elle  demanda 
4  entrer  dans  le  corps  d'un  perroquet     «  Au  moins, 

20  disait-elle,  je  conserverai  par  \k  quelque  ressemblance 
avec  les  bommes,  que  j'ai  si  longtemps  imit^s.  !^tant 
singe,  je  faisais  des  gestes  comme  eux ;  et,  ^tant  per- 
roquet, je  parlerai  avec  eux  dans  les  plus  agr^bles 
conversations. 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  119 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

Itii  sor^te  dez  o'reijy  e  k  le  'vein  d  se  'td,\p  Un  ekWteir, 
'pyi  dezespe're,  il  vuly  bri'^ze  son  e'pe  dyrW'dal;  me  I  'rok 
sd  fWdi  sdtz  ehre'le  le'pe, 

Sdpdt'^dct  jarWmaji  ave  ko^'pri  lez  a'pzl  ly'gy'^hr.     il 
s  ekrVa  tristd'mct :  sd  'kd\r  a  'lo\g  a'lzin  I  ro'ld,  et  dt  pe'ril !  5 
e  r'vz  d.  'a\t  0  s'kuir  d  se  ^pr^,    me  il  ari'va  tro  'ta\r, 
loWfdt  s  ete  'tyy  e  le  ^peir  ete  'mo\r, 

§  142.  h  '«ei3 

ok  vj^  'sei3  ma^le  et(l  'mow,  so'n  oibrd  desWdi  ddl  la 
'soibrd  d^moeir  d{d)  ply' to,  u  eZ  dmWda  a  rtur'ne  parmi  10 
le  vi'vU.  ply'to  vule  la  rWvwa'je  dS,  I  'ko\r  dok'n  a\n 
pa'zd,  e  sty'pidy  pur  lyi  o'^te  sa  supples,  sa  vivasi'te  e  sa 
ma^lis;  me  elji  'tcL  d(d)  'tuirple'^za  e  ha'de,  kd  le'fleksiihld 
'rwa  dez  (V'fe\r  n  py  sd^'pe'^^e  d  'riir,  e  lyi  le'^sa  I  'Iwa 
d  yn  ko'di'sjo.  el  dmU^'da  a  a^'tre  da  I  'ko\r  dokpero'ke,  15 
«  o  'mwe,  dize't  el,  3a  ko'ser'vre  par  'la  kelkd  rsa''hlU\s  avek 
le'z  om,  kd  36  si  lo^'tU  imi'te.  etct  'seX'z^,  39  fdze  de  '365^ 
ko'm  6;  e  eWi  pero'ke,  39  parWre  ave'k  d  ddt  le  plyz  agre- 
'aibld  kd' versa' 'sJQ,  » 


120  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

A  peine  Tdjne  du  singe  f  ut  introduite  dans  ce  nouveau 
metier,  qu'une  vieille  femme  causeuse  Pacheta.  II  fit 
ses  d^lices ;  elle  le  mit  dans  one  belle  cage.  II  faisait 
bonne  ch^re,  et  discourait  toute  la  joum^e  avec  la 
fiyieille  radoteuse,  qui  ne  parlait  pas  plus  sens^ment 
que  lui.  II  joignait  k  son  nouTeau  talent  d'^tourdir 
tout  le  monde  je  ne  sais  quoi  de  son  ancienne  pro? 
fession;  il  remuait  sa  tdte  ridiculement ;  il  faisait 
eraquer  son  bee ;  il  agitait  ses  ailes  de  cent  famous,  et 

10  faisait  de  ses  pattes  plusieurs  tours  qui  sentaient 
encore  les  grimaces  de  Fagotin.  La  vieille  prenait  k 
toute  heure  ses  lunettes  pour  Padmirer.  Elle  ^tait 
bien  f&ch^e  d'dtre  un  peu  sourde  et  de  perdre  quelque- 
fois  des  paroles  de  son  perroquet,  k  qui  elle  trouvait 

16  plus  d'esprit  qu'^  personne.     Ce  perroquet  gftt^  devint 

bavard,  importun  et  fou.     II  se  tourmenta  si  fort  dans 

sa  cage,  et  but  tant  de  vin  avec  la  vieille,  qu'il  en 

mourut. 

Le  voili  revenu  devant  Pluton,  qui  voulut  cette  fois 

20  le  faire  passer  dans  le  corps  d'un  poisson  pour  le 
rendre  muet ;  mais  il  fit  encore  une  farce  devant  le  roi 
des  ombres :  et  les  princes  ne  r^sistent  gu^re  aux 
demandes  des  mauvais  plaisants  qui  les  flattent. 
Pluton  accorda  done  k  celui-ci   qu'il  irait  dans  le 


FOR  ORAL  PRACtic:^:  121 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

a  ^pem  'la\m  dy  'S83  fy  e'tro'dyit  da  s  mtvo  me'tje^  kyn 
vjeij  'fam  Wz^iz  la^ta,  ilji  se  de^lis;  d  h  mi  dUz  yn 
'bel  ^kai^.  ilfdze  hon  '\^\r,  e  disku're  'tut  la  ^ur'ne  avek 
la  vjeij  rado't^iz,  ki  n  parh  'pa  ply  sWse'mU  k  'h[i,  it 
3w;a'ji8  a  so  'nuvo  ta'la  d  etur'dhr  tu  I  'moid  5a  n  se5 
'kwa  d  son  a^'sjen  profe'sjo;  il  rdmiie  sa  'teit  ridikyVmd,; 
il  fdzz  kra'ke  so  'bek;  il  a-T^i'te  se'z  eil  d(d)  sU  fa' so,  e 
fdze  dse  'pat  plyzjoeir  'tuir  ki  sa'te  Wkoirle  gri'mas  d(d) 
fago'te.  la  'vjeij pr dm  a  'tu  t  oeir  se  ly'net  pur  I  admv're, 
d  ete  'bjefai'je  deitr  odptj)  'surd  e  d  'perdrd  kelkd'fwa  de  10 
pa'rol  d  so  p^ro'ke,  a  ki  el  tru^'ve  'ply  des'prikaper'son. 
sd  pero'ke  ga^'te  ddve  ba'vair,  e'por'toe  e  'fu.  il  sd  tur- 
ma''ta  si  'fair  da  sa  'kai^,  e  by  'ta  d  've  avek  la  ^vjeij, 
kil  dt  mu'ry. 


Id  vwala  r(d)v'ny  dvdl  ply'to,  ki  vu'ly  set  'fwa  I  few  15 
pa^'se  d^  I  koir  doe  pwa'so  pur  1(d)  'raidrd  'my^e;  me  il 
ji  ^''koir  yn  'fars  ddvdi  I  'rwa  de'z  oibr :    e  le  'preis  na 
rezist    'geir    o   d'maid    de    'move   ple^'zU   ki    le    'flat, 
ply'to  akorda  'doik  a  sdlyi'si  kil  i're  dU  I  'koir  doe'n  om. 


122  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

corps  d'lin  homme.  Mais  comme  le  dieu  eut  honte  de 
Penvoyer  dans  le  corps  d'un  homme  sage  et  vertueux, 
11  le  destiua  au  corps  d'un  harangueur  ennuyeux  et 
importun,  qui  mentait,  qui  se  vantait  sans  cesse,  qui 

6  faisait  des  gestes  ridicules,  qui  se  moquait  de  tout  le 
monde,  qui  interrompait  toutes  les  conversations  les 
plus  solideSy  pour  dire  des  riens,  ou  les  sottises  les 
plus  grossi^res.  Mercure,  qui  le  reconnut  dans  oe 
nouvel  ^tat,  lui  dit  en  riant :  c  Ho !  ho !  je  te  reconnais ; 

10  tu  n'es  qu'un  compost  du  singe  et  du  perroquet  que 
j'ai  Yus  autrefois.  Qui  t'dterait  tes  gestes  et  tes  paroles 
apprises  par  oceur,  sans  jugement,  ne  laisserait  rien  de 
toL  D'un  joli  singe  et  d'un  bon  perroquet,  on  n'en 
fait  qu'un  sot  homme. » 

15  O  combien  d'hommes  dans  le  monde,  avec  des  gestes 
faqonn^s,  un  petit  caquet  et  un  air  capable,  n'ont  ni 
sens  ni  conduite  1  FiKSLON. 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  123 

Pronunciation  in  ordinary  reading. 

me  korti  h  'dj^  y  'o\t  dd  IWvwa'je  dd,  I  ^koir  dcen  om 
'sai^  e  ver'tii^y  il  lid)  desti/na  o  'koir  doe,  arW- 
'goeir  (t'ntii'^j^  e  I'por'toe,,  ki  mdt'^te,  ki  s  vdt'^te  sU  ^seSf  ki 
fdze  de  ^^est  ridi'kyl,  ki  s  mo'kz  d  'tu  I  ^md:d,  ki  e'tero'^pe 
^tut  le  ko'versa'^sjo  le  ^ply  so'Ud,  pur  diir  de  ^rje,  u  leS 
so'tiiz  le  ply  gro^sjeir.  mzr'kyw,  ki  h  rko^ny  dU  s 
nu^vel  e'ta,liii'di  dl  'rja:  <\h)o!  \h)o!  3a  td  rko'm;  ty 
ne  koe,  kopo'^ze  dy  'sei^  e  dy pero'ke  kdT^e  'vy  oitrd'fwa* 
ki  to^'tre  te  '^est  e  te  pa'rol  apriiz  par  'kceir,  set  ^y'^'m^y 
nd  hisre  'rJE  d  ^twa.  doe  ^^oli  ^sei^  e  doe  'bo  pero'ke,  0  nS  10 
'/e  /cce  'so't  om,y^ 


o  'koibje  ^dom  dU  I  'moid,  avek  de  ^^est  faso'ne,  ce  pti 
ka'ke  e  oefn  eir  ka'paibl,  no  'ni  'sctis  'ni  ko'^diiit/ 

fea'lo. 


124  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

"^         Rapid  conversatioDal  pronunciation. 

§  143.  £N   CLASSB 

Le  professeur:   Bonjour,  mes  eufants. 
Lea  dl^ea :   Bon  jour,  monsieur. 
Le  professeur :   Y  a-t-il  dee  absents  ce  matin  ? 
5 Jacques    (Jacqueline):    11  ne   manque  personne,  mon- 
sieur. 
Le  professeur :   Qu'aviez-vouz  k  faire  pour  aujourd'hui? 
Jean  (Jeanne):    Nous   avions  k  r^umer  en  prose  la 
fable  que  nous  avons  lue  avant-hier. 
10  Le  professeur :   Alors  vous  savez  ce  que  nous  avons 
^tudi^  en  classe  la  demi^re  fois  ?    Pourtant  il  me 
semble  que  c'est  justement  vous  qui  avez  casqu^ 
r^cole. 
Jean  (Jeanne) :    Mais  non,  monsieur,  vous  vous  trom- 
15         pez !    Ce  n'est  pas  moi  qui  ai  ^t^  absent  (absente), 
je  vous  assure. 
Le  professeur :   Les  professeurs  ne  se  trompent  jamais. 
Asseyez-vous !    Vous  aurez  une  heure  de  retenue. 
Jean  (Jeanne) :   Mais,  monsieur  .  .  . 
20  Le  professeur :    Taisez-vous !  —  Lejeune,  commencez  k 
lire  ce  que  vous  avez  ^crit.     Vous  autres,  vous 
allez  discuter  ses  fautes.  —  Parlez  plus  haut  et 
pas  si  vite.  —  Reprenez  au  commencement.     Vous 
devez  articuler  plus  distinctement    Vous  n'avez 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  125 

Rapid  conversational  pronunciation. 

§  143.  ^  'Mais 

Id  profe'soeir :  bo'  'wr^  mez  W  |/*S. 
leze^ziv:  bo'^^uir,  md'sj^. 
Id  profe'soeir:  j  ati  dez  ap^sa  s  ma'tef 
'^aik  (^a^'klin)  :  i  n  mctik per'soUj  md'sj^,  5 

Id  profe'soeir:  kavje  vu  a  'feir pur  o'^ur'diiif 

'^a  Csain)  :  nuz  avjo  a  rezy'me  a  'proiz  la  'faih(ld)  kd 

nuz  avo  'ly  avdt'jeir. 
Id  profe'soeir:   aloir  vu   sa've  s   kd  nuz  avo  ety'dje  dt 

'klais  la  dernjeir  'fwa  ?  pur'ta  i  m  'sdtih(ld)  k(d)  se  10 

^ystdmdt  'vu  kj  ave  kas'ke  I  e'kol. 

'3^  ('3am)  :  'me  'no,  md'sj^,  vu  vu  tro^'pe!  s  ne  pa  'mwa 
ki  e  ete  ap'sU  {ap'sUit),  3  vuz  a'syir. 

Id  profe'soeir :  le  p'ivfe'soeir  no  s  'troip  ^a'me,  aseje  'vu  ! 
vuz  ore  y'n  oeir  do  r'tny.  15 

'3S  (^^ain) :   'me,  md'sj^  .  .  . 

Id  profe'soeir :  te'ze  'vu  !  — •  Id'yx.n^  komU'se  a  'liir  s  kd 
vuz  ave  e'krL  vu'z  oit(rd)j  vuz  ale  disky'te  se  'foit 
parle  ply  '0  e  'pa  si  'vit.  —  rdprd'ne  0  komWs'm^, 
vu  dve  artiky'le  ply  disWktd'mU,     vu  nave  pa  Z20 


126  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Rapid  conversational  pronunciation. 

pas  le  moindre  sens  de  la  declamation.  —  Pourquoi 

ne  oontinuez-vous    pas?    Vous    attendez    qu'on 

Yons  souffle,  n'est-ce  pas  ? 
Francois  Lejeune :   Mais,  monsieur  .  .  . 
6Le    professeur:    Pas    de    r^plique.     C'est    trop    fort. 

Tout  le  monde  semble  dtre  paresseux  aujourd'hui. 

Prenez  garde  k  yous  si   vous  continuez  ainsi ! 

Dans  deux  semaiues  yous  deYrez  yous  presenter  k 

I'examen.     II  y  a  au  moins  six  d'entre  yous  qui 
10         <choueront  —  Voil4  la  cloche  qui  sonne!  —  Eh 

bien,  pour  demain  yous  apprendrez  par  cceur  la 

fable  que  Franqois  n'a  pas  su  d^clamer  aujourd'hui. 

—  Au  reYoir,  mes  enfants. 
(Les    ei^Yes   se   l^Yent,   ramassent   leurs   affaires, 
16  saluent  le  professeur  en  disant  c  Au  reYoir,  monsieur  » 
et  sortent.) 

§  144.  LA   ORAMMAIRB 

(Sc^ne  XV)  / 

Poitrinas,  au  fond,  rangeant  sur  le  buffet.  —  Un  morceau 
20         de  verre !  .  .  .  du  verre ! 

Caboussat,  k  part.  —  Bien !  ma  carafe  ! 
Poitrinas,  descendant.  —  Et  il  y  a  des  &nes  qui  pr^ 
tendent  que  les  Komains  ne  connaissaient  pas 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  127 

Rapid  conversational  pronunciation. 

'mweidrd    ^sdtis    d    la    deklama'' sjo.  — purkwa    n 
ko'ti'niie  vu pa?    vuz  atWde  ho  vu  'sufly  nes'paf 

frWsiva  h^oen :   'me,  md'sj^  .  .  . 

h  profe^soeir :  'pa  d  re'plik,  se  'tro  'p\T,  'tu  I  'moid 
sUi'bl  eit{rd)  pare's^  o"2^ur'dyi,  prane  gard  as 
'vu  si  vu  ko'ti'niie  e''si!  ddt  'd^  s'men  vu  ddvre  vu 
prezdf'te  a  hgza'me,  i  j  a  o  mwe  'sis  dSitrd  'vu 
ki  ej^vd'ro.  —  vwala  la  'kloj  ki  'son  !  —  e  'bje,  pur 
'dme  vuz  aprWdre  par  'koeir  la  'fa\h{ld)  kd  frU^'swa 
na  pa  sy  dekla'me  o'^ur'diiu  —  o  r'wair,  mez  S'^/a.  lO 


(lez  e'leiv  Sd  'Zeiv,  ra'mais  loerz  a'feir,  sa'ly  I  profe- 
'sceir  3  dv'zS  «o  r'wair,  mds'j^:»  e  'sort) 

§  144.  la  gra'meir 

('sem  'keiz) 

pwatri'naiSy  o  'foy  rU^'yi  syr  I  by'fe,  —  ce  morso  d  'veir!l5 

.  ,  ,  dy  'veir! 
kabu'sa,  a' pair.  —  'bj^  I  ma  ka'rafi 
pwatri'naiSy  dzsdL''d(l,  —  e  ij  a  de'z  am  ki  pre'tSid  kd  le 


128  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Rapid  conversational  pronunciation. 

le  verre  I  .  .  .  et  taill^ !    Je  vais  leur  d^oooher  im 
m^moire. 

Caboussat  —  Et  vous  ferez  bien ! 

Poitrinas.  —  Mon  ami,  je  vous  dois  on  des  plus  beaux 

6         jours  de  ma  vie  .  .  .  et  je  veux,  sans  tarder,  faire 

connaitre  k  mes  collogues  .  .  .  (Se  reprenant.) 

4  noa  collogues  de  TAcad^mie  d'^tampes  ce  grand 

&ut  areh^logique  .  .  . 

Caboussat.  —  C'est  une  bonne  idte. 
10  Poitrinas.  —  Je  vais  les  prier  de  nommer  une  sous-com- 
mission pour  oontinuer  les  fouilles  dans  votre 
jardin. 

Caboussat.  —  Ah !  mais  non  I 

Poitrinas.  —  Au  nom  de  la  science !  vite  une  plume  .  .  . 
15         de  Tencre.     (II  passe  k  la  table,  premier  plan  k 
droite.) 

Caboussat — Tenez  .  .  .  li!  .  .  .  sur  mon  bureau.     (U 
Pinstalle  k  son  bureau.) 

Poitrinas.  — Ah !  vous  vous  servez  de  plumes  d'oie?  .  .  . 
20  Caboussat.  —  Toujours !    (Avec  importance.)     Une  ha- 
bitude de  quarante  ann^es ! 

Poitrinas.  —  Elle  est  trop  f endue  .  .  .    Vous  n'auriez 
pas  un  canif  ? 

Caboussat,  lui  donnant  un  canif.  —  Si  .  .  .  voil4 1 


FOR  ORAL   PRACTICE  129 

Rapid  conversational  pronunciation. 

Td^mt  n  kone'^se  pa  I  'vtirl  .  .  .  e  ta'^je!  3  v^  loer 

deko'le  oe  me'mwair, 
hahu'sa,  —  e  vu  fre  'bje  I 
pwatri'nais.  — mon  a^miy  3  vu  'dioa  o&de  'ply  bo  '^uir  d 

ma  'vi  ,  .  .  e  'z^  'v^,  set  tar'de,  feir  ko'mUr  a  me  5 

kd'h\g  .  ,  .  (sd   rprd^na)  a  'no  koleig  d  lakade'mi 

de'taip  Sd  gra  'fe  arkeob'^ik  ...    * 

kahu'sa.  —  s^t  yn  'hon  i'de, 

pwatri'nais.  —  3  'ye  le  pri'e  d  nome  yn  sukomi'sjo  pur 
ko'ti'mie  le  'fu\j  dS,  vot(r9)  ^ar'de,  10 

kabu'sa,  —  'ai  !  me  'no  ! 

pwatri'nais,  —  o   'nd   d  la   'sjdtis !   'vit   yn  'plym    ... 

d   'laikr.       (il    'pais    a    la    'taibl,   pvdmje    'pla   a 

'drwat.) 
kabu'sa.  —  td'ne   ,    .    .    'lal   ,    .    .    syr  mo   by'ro,     (i7l5 

Wstal  a  so  by'ro.) 
pujatri'na\s,  —  'a\!  vu  vu  ser^ve  d  'plym  'dwa  ?  .  .  . 
kabu'sa.  —  tu'^^uir!    (avek   t'por't^is.)     yn   abi'tyd    dd 

ka'rdtit  a'ne  ! 
pwatri'nais.  —  el  e  'tro  fa''dy  .  .  ,  vu  norje  pa  oe  ka'niff  20 

kabu'sa,  l^i  do'nU  ce  ka'nif.  —  'si  .  .  .  vwa'la  I 


130  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Rapid  conTereational  pronunciation. 

Poitrinas,  tout  en  taillant  sa  plume.  —  Ah !  lea  Romains 
ne  connaissaient  pas  le  verre  !  (Poussant  un  cri.) 
Ale! 

CabouBsat.  —  Quoi  ? 
6  Poitrinas.  —  Je  me  suis  ooup^ ! 

Caboutaat. — Attendez  .  .  .  dans  le  tiroir  .  .  .  un  chif- 
fon .  .  .  (Lui  emmaillotant  le  doigt)  Je  yais 
Tous  arranger  one  petite  poup^  .  .  .  Ne  bougez 
pas  ...  Li !  .  .  .  Yoili  oe  que  e'est  .  . 
10  Poitrinas.  —  Merei  .  .  .  maintenant,  je  vais  vous  de- 
mander  un  servioe. 

CabouBsat.  —  Lequel  ? 

Poitrinas.  —  C'est  de  tenir  la  plume  k  ma  place ;  je 
yais  dieter. 
16  Cabousaat,  ^  part  —  Diable  I     (Haut.)    Mais  .  .  .  c'est 
que  .  .  . 

Poitrinas.  —  Quoi? 

Cabousaat. — ^ficrire  i  une  academic  .  .  . 

Poitrinas. — Puisque  vous  6tes  membre  correspondant 
20         ...  c'est  pour  correspondre  .  .  . 

Caboussat,  va  s'asseoir  k  la  table.  —  C'est  juste !  (A 
part,  s'asseyant  au  bureau.)  lis  ont  tous  la  rage 
de  me  faire  ^crire  aujourd'hui  .  .  .  et  ma  fille  qui 
n'est  pas  li ! 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  131 

Rapid  conversational  pronunciation. 

pwatri'naiSy   tut   S   ta''jdL  sa  ^plym,  —  'ai/  le  ro'ml  n 
kom^'sz  pa  I  'veir  /     {jpu'sdi  d&  'kru)     "aj  ! 

kahu^sa,  —  ^kwa  9 

pwatri'nais.  —  39  m  syi  ku^pe  ! 

kahu'aa.  —  atdf'de  ,  ,  ,  dcL  I  tP'rwair  ...  5  \i'fo  .  .  .6 

{lyi  (I'majo'tdL  I  'dwa.)     3  vz  vuz   arS'^^e  ym  ptit 

pu'pe  .  .  .  na  hw^e  'pa  .  .  .  7a/  .  .  .  vwa'la  s  kd 

'se  ,  .  , 
pwatri'nais,  —  'mersi  .  .  .  me't'ndt,  5  ve  vu  difn^^'de  oe 

ser^vis,  10 

kabu'sa.  —  b^kel? 
pwatri^nais.  —  se  dd  t'niw  la 'ply m  a  ma  'plas;   3  vz 

dik'te, 
kabu'sa,  a 'pair.  —  'djaibl!  ('0.)    'me  .  .  .  'sekd  .  .  . 

pwatri'nais,  —  'kwa  f  16 

kabu'sa,  —  e'kriir  a  yn  akade'mi  .  .  . 

pwatri'nais,  — pyiska  vuz    et  'mdlibrd  korespo^'ddt   .  .  se 
pur  kores'poidr  .  .  . 

kabu'sa,  va  sa'swair  a  la 'taibh  —  se  '32/s^/  (a  'pair, 
sase'ja  0  by'ro,)     iz  0  'tuis  la  'rai^  dd  m  feir  e-20 
'kriir  o'^ur'diii  ...  e  ma  'Jiij  ki  m  pa  'la  ! 


132  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Rapid  converaational  pronunciation. 

Poitrinas.  —  Y  dtes-vous  ? 

Caboussat. — Un  moment !   (A  part.)    Peut-^tre  qu^avec 

beaucoup  de  pftt^  .  .  . 
Poitrinas,   dictant  —  c  Messieurs    et    chers   collogues 
5         ...  I'arch^ologie  vient  de  s'enrichir  ...» 
Caboussat,  k  part  —  Allons,  bon !  voil4  qu'il  me  flanque 

des  mots  difficiles  .  .  .    Aroh^logie ! 
Poitrinas.  —  Vous  y  6tes  ? 

Caboussat. — Attendez  ...    (A  part)    Arch^logie  . .  . 
10         est-ce  q-u-^  ou  k-tf?  Oh!  une  id^e!    (II  prend  le 

cuuif  et  taille  sa  plume.) 
Poitrinas,  dictant  —  c  Vient  de  s'enrichir,  gr&ce  k  mea 

infatigables  travaux  ...» 
Caboussat,  poussant  un  orL  —  AXe  I 
15  Poitrinas.  —  Quoi  ? 
Caboussat  —  Je   me  suis   coup^  .  .  .  Donnez-moi  du 

chiffon  dans  le  tiroir.    (Poitrinas  ouvre  le  tiroir  et 

y  prend  un  chiffon.) 
Poitrinas. — Envoil^  .  .  .    Attendez  .  .  .  jevais&mon 
20         tour  ...     (D  lui  emmaillote  le  doigt) 

Caboussat,  k  part,  agitant  son  doigt  emmaillote.  —  ^a 

y  est  I  .  .  .  je  suis  sauv^  ! 
Poitrinas,  agitant  aussi  son  doigt.  —  C'est  ddsolant .  .  . 

Enfin,  j'^crirai  demain.  EuoibNE  Labiche. 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  133 

Rapid  conversational  pronunciation. 

pwatrfnais,  —  i  zt  ^vu  9 

kahu'sa,  —  6e  mo'mH  !  (a  'pair.)    jp^'tzit  kavek  ^boiku  d 

pa^'te  .  .  . 
pwatri'nais,   diWtU,  —  <^me'^sj^  e  'J^ir  ko'leig  ,  .  .  lar- 

keoW'^i  vje  d  sdt'ri'jiir  ...»  5 

kabu^sa,  a  'pair.  — a75,  '65 !  vwa'la  ki  m  'fldtik  de  mo 

difi'sil  .  .  .  'ar'A;e'a'Zo'3i7 
pwatri'naxs.  —  vuz  i  'e^  9 
kabu^sa.  —  atWde  ...  (a  'jpair.)     'ar'Are'o'fo'si .  .  .  ei  s 

'A;2/  '2/  '^  "^  '^^  '^  ^    '0  ^  y^  *'^^  ^     (^^  'P^^  ^  ka'nif  e  10 

'^aij  sa  plym) 
pivatri'na\s^  di¥tdt. — «  vje  d  «3'n'Jiir,  '^rais  a  me(2;)  e*^- 

Wga\b{ld)  tra'vo  ...» 
kabu'sa,  pu^sa  ce  'A;?'i.  —  "aj .' 

pwatri'na\s,  —  'kwa  9  16 

kabv/sa.  —  3a  m  sz/i  A;w'pe  .  .  .  done  mwa  dy  [I'fo  ddt  I 

tv'rwair.     [pwatri'nais  uwrd  I  tv'nvaw  e   i  'pra  oe 

It-'/3-)  .^  -^        - 

pwatri^nais,  —  3  vwa'la  .  .  .  atWde  .  .  .  3  ve  a  m3  '^wir 

.  .  .  {il  lyi  (I'ma'jdt  h  'dwa.)  20 

kabu'sa^  a  'pair,  a^i't^  so  'dwa  St'majo'te,  —  sa'J  e .'  3  s^i 

so''i?e.' 
pwatri'naiSf  a^i'tSt  o''si  so  'dwa.  —  se  'dezoldt  .  .  .  95' '/e, 

^ekrire  d'me,  f^'^^em  Wbij. 


134  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciatioD. 

POETRY 

§  145.  LE   PETIT   BfARI 

Mon  p^re  m'a  donn^  on  man ; 
Mon  Dieu !  quel  homme, 

Quel  petit  homme. 
Mon  p^re  m'a  donn^  un  mari, 
Mon  Dieu !  quel  homme, 

Qu'il  est  petit ! 


Le  chat  I'a  pris  pour  un'  souriSy 
Mon  Dieu !  quel  homme, 
10  Quel  petit  homme. 

Le  chat  Pa  pris  pour  un'  souris, 
Mon  Dieu !  quel  homme, 
Qu'il  est  petit ! 
«        «        •        #        • 
Pour  me  consoler,  je  me  dis : 
15  Mon  Dieu !  quel  homme. 

Quel  petit  homme. 
Pour  me  consoler,  je  me  dis : 
Mon  Dieu  !  quel  homme, 
Qu'il  est  petit  I 


FOR   ORAL   PRACTICE  135 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

POETRY 

§  145.  Id  p{dyti  ma'Wi 

mo  ^peir  ma  done  os,  ma^'ri; 
mo  ^dj^I  ke^l  om, 

kel  potft  omfa].^ 
mo  ^peir  ma  done  oe  ma'Vi,  5 

mo  'dj^  ke^l  om, 

Ml  epd'ti! 

Id  'la  la  'pri  pur  yn  su'ri, 
mo  'dj^ !  Wl  om, 

kel  pdti't  om[^d^.^  10 

Id  'la  la  'pri  pur  yn  su'ri^ 
mo  'dj^ !  ke'l  om^ 

Ml  e  pd'ti ! 

pur  md  ko'so'le,  39  md  'di: 

mo  'djcji  I  kz'l  om,  15 

kelpdti't  om\^d']-^ 
pur  md  ko'so'le,  39  md  'di: 
mo  'dj^  !  ke'l  om. 

Ml  epd'ti! 

1  [a]  is  pronounced  only  in  singing.    See  §  91. 


136  PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Very  alow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

§  146.  LA   Bf£R£  MICHEL 

C'est  la  m^re  Michel  qui  a  perdu  son  chat, 
Qui  cri'  par  la  fendtr',  qui  est-c'  qui  lui  rendra, 
Et  V  comp^r*  Lustucru  qui  lui  a  r^pondu  : 
5  c  Allez,  la  m^r'  Michel,  vot'  chat  n'est  pas  perdu. » 

C'est  la  m^re  Michel  qui  lui  a  demand^ : 

c  Mon  chat  n'est  pas  perdu  ?  Vous  Pavez  done  trouv^  ?  » 

£t  V  oomp^r'  Lustucru  qui  lui  a  r^pondu  : 

«  Donnez  un'  recompense,  il  yous  sera  rendu. » 

10  Et  la  m^re  Michel  lui  dit :  c  C'est  d^cid^ : 
Si  YOUS  rendez  mon  chat,  yous  aurez  un  baiser. » 
Le  comp^r*  Lustucru,  qui  n'en  a  pas  youIu, 
Lui  dit :  c  Pour  un  lapin  Yotre  chat  est  Yendu. » 

§  147.    LE   CORBEAU   ET   LE    RENARD 

15  Maitre  corbeau,  sur  un  arbre  perch^, 

Tenait  en  son  bee  un  f  romage. 

Maitre  renard,  par  Todeur  all^ch^, 

Lui  tint  k  peu  pr^s  ce  langage  : 

«  Eh !  bonjour,  monsieur  du  corbeau ! 
20  Que  YOUS  6tes  joli !  que  yous  me  semblez  beau ! 

Sans  mentir,  si  Yotre  ramage 


FOR   ORAL   PRACTICE  137 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

§  146.  la  'rm\r  mi'jel 

se  la  meir  mi^jel  ki  a  per'dy  so  'J^, 

ki  'kripar  lafd'neit(r)y  ki  es  ki  lyi  rWdra, 

e  I  ko'^peir  lysty'kry  ki  ly^i  a  repo^'dy : 

«a7e,  la  meir  mi'\el,  vot  'la  m  pa  per'dy.»  6 

se  la  meir  mi'jel  ki  l%[i  a  ddmWde  : 

«  mo  'la  ne  pa  per'dy  9    vu  lave  do  trw've  f  » 

e  I  ko'peir  lysty'kry  ki  lyi  a  repo^'dy : 

«  dd'nez  yn  reko''pdL\s,  il  vu  sd'ra  rdL^'dy. » 

e  la  meir  mi'lel  lyi  'di :  «  se  desi'de :  10 

si  vu  rdL^'de  mo  'Ja,  vuz  ore{z)  oe  be^'ze.  » 
Id  ko'peir  lysty'kry,  ki  ndtn  a  pa  vu'ly, 
lyi  'di:  «pur  oe  la'pe  votrd  'ja  e  vdt^'dy.yy 

§  147.  h  kor'bo  e  h  r{d)'na\r 

'meitrd  kor'bo,  syr  oe'n  arbrd  per'^e,  15 

tdnet  U  so  'bek  oefro'mai^. 

'meitrd  ra'nair,par  lo^'dceir  ale'^e, 

lyi  'tet  a  p(j>  'pre  sd  l^^'gai^ : 

« 'ei  I  bo^'^uir,  ms'sj^  dy  kor'bo  ! 

kd  vuz  et  ^o'li!  kd  vu  md  'sUible  'bo!  20 

s3  mU'^tiir,  si  votrd  ra'mai'^ 


138  PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

/ 

Se  rapporte  k  votre  plumage, 

Yous  dtes  le  ph^nix  des  hdtes  de  ces  bois. » 

A  ces  mots,  le  corbeau  ne  se  sent  pas  de  joie ; 

Et,  pour  montrer  sa  belle  voix, 
5 II  ouvre  un  large  bee,  laisse  tomber  sa  proie. 

Le  renard  s'en  saisit,  et  dit :  c  Mon  bon  monsieur, 

Apprenez  que  tout  flatteur 

Yit  aux  d^pens  de  oelui  qui  I'^coute ; 

Cette  leqon  vaut  bien  un  fromage,  sans  doute. » 
10  Le  corbeau,  honteux  et  confus, 

Jura,  mais  un  peu  tard,  qu'on  ne  Vy  prendrait  plus. 

Jban  dk  La  Fontaink. 

§  148.  APRES   LA   BATAILLE 

Mon  p^re,  ce  h^ros  au  sourire  si  doux, 

Suivi  d'un  seul  housard,  qu'il  aimait  entre  tons 

15  Pour  sa  grande  bravoure  et  pour  sa  haute  taille, 
Parcourait  k  cheval,  le  soir  d'une  bataille, 
Le  champ  convert  de  morts  sur  qui  tombait  la  nuit 
II  lui  sembla  dans  I'ombre  entendre  un  faible  bruit. 
C'^tait  un  Espagnol  de  Tarm^  en  d^route, 

20  Qui  se  trainait,  sanglant,  sur  le  bord  de  la  route, 
R&lant,  bris^,  livide,  et  mort  plus  qu'^  moiti^, 
Et  qui  disait :  «  A  boire,  k  boire  par  piti^ ! » 


FOR   ORAL   PRACTICE  139 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

89  rapport  a  votrd  ply'mai'^, 

vuz  et  Id  fe'^niks  de'z  o\t  dd  se  'bwa,y> 

a  se  'mo,  Id  kor'ho  na  sd  sUpa  dd  '^wa; 

e,  pur  mo^'tre  sa  hel  'vwa, 

il  uivr  oe  'lar^d  'bek,  his  td'^be  sa  'prwa,  5 

Id  rd'nair  sdt  se'^zi,  e  'di:  «  mo  'ho  md'sj^y 

aprd'ne  kd  tufla'toeir 

vit  0  de'pU  dd  sd'lyi  ki  le'kut; 

set  Id'so  vo  'bje(n)  oe  fro'mai^,  sSt  'dut  » 

Id  kor'bOy  d''t^  e  ko^'fy,  10 

^y'ra,  mez  ce  p^  'tair,  kd  nd  li  prWdre  'ply. 

'3S  d(d)  lafo^'ten. 

§  148.  Bpre  la  ba'taij 

mo  'peiVy  Sd  e^'ro  0  su'riir  si  'du, 

svi^'vi  doe,  'sod  u'zair.  Ml  e'met  Uitrd  'tui(s) 

pur  sa  'grdlid  bra'vuir  e  pur  sa  'o\t{d)  'taij,  15 

parkuret  a  J(a)''yaZ,  Id  'swair  dyn  ba'taij. 

Id  'IdL  kuveir  dd  'moir  syr  ki  to^'be  la  'mii. 

il  li[i  sWbla  ddL  'loibr  WtdLidr  ce  'fiibld  'bry^i, 

setet  den  espa'pol  dd  lar'me  a  de'rut, 

ki  s(d)  tre''m,  sWgln,  syr  Id  'boir  d(d)  la  'rut,        20 

ra^'lS,  brv'ze,  li'vid,  e  'moir  ply  ka  mwa'tje, 

e  ki  di'ze:  «a  'bwair,  a  'bwair  par  pi'tje  I » 


140  PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTIONS 

Very  alow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

Mon  p^re,  ^mu,  tendit  k  son  housard  fiddle 
Une  gourde  de  rhum  qui  pendait  k  sa  selle, 
£t  dit :  «  Tiens,  donne  k  boire  k  ce  pauvre  bless^. » 
Tout  k  coup,  au  moment  oh.  le  housard  baiss^ 
6  Se  penchait  yers  lui,  I'homme,  une  esp^oe  de  Maure, 
Saisit  un  pistolet  qu'il  ^treignait  encore, 
£t  vise  au  front  mon  p^re,  en  criant :  t  Caramba ! » 
Le  coup  passa  si  pr^s  que  le  chapeau  tomba, 
£t  que  le  cheval  fit  un  ^cart  en  arri^re. 
10  €  Donne-lui  tout  de  mdme  k  boire, »  dit  mon  p^re. 

Victor  Hugo. 
!  U9.  LA   MARSEILLAISE 

Ailons,  enfants  de  la  Patrie, 
Le  jour  de  gloire  est  arriv^ ; 
Contre  nous  de  la  tyrannie 
15         L'^tendard  sanglant  est  lev^. 

£ntendez-vous  dans  ces  campagnes 
Mugir  ces  f^roces  soldats  ? 
lis  viennent  j  usque  dans  vos  bras 
^gorger  vos  fils,  vos  compagnes  ! 
20         Aux  armes,  citoyens  I  f ormez  vos  bataillons  1 
Marchons,  marchons ! 
Qu'un  sang  impur  abreuve  nos  sillons  ! 

EOUGKT   DB   L'ISLS. 


FOR  ORAL  PRACTICE  141 

Very  slow  and  careful  pronunciation. 

mo  'peir,  e^my,  tWdit  a  so  u^zairji'del 
yn  'giird{d)  da  Worn  hi  pWdzt  a  sa  'szl, 
e  'di:  « 'tjl,  don  a  'bwair  a  sd  'powrd  hWse,  > 
tut  a  'hu,  0  mo'mdt  u  h  u'zair  be'^se 
Sd  pS'^Je  ver  7^i,  'Zom,  yn  es^pes  dd  'moir,  6 

se'^zit  06  pisto'lz  Ml  etre^jiet  dl'^koir, 
e  viiz  0  yro  mo  ^peir^  U  kri'd. :  «  Tca'ramha  !  » 
Id  'kupa'sa  si  'prz  kd  h  la^po  to^'ba, 
e  kd  Id  lidYvalJit  oen  e'kair  an  a^rjeir, 
«  do7i  lyi  tut^meim  a  'hwair^ »  di  mo  'peir,  lo 

vik'to(\)r  y'go, 
149.  la  mai'se^jeiz 

a'loz,  U^'fU  did)  la pa'tri[d'] y^ 

Id  3i6ir  da  'glwa\r  et  arrive; 

koitrd  'nu  d(d)  la  tira'nildy- 

letn^'dair  s^^'gUt  e  l{dyve,  15 

U'tU'de  ^vu  da  se  Zf3''paji[a]  * 

my^'^iir  se  fe'ros{d)  sol' da? 

il  ''y/2n[a]*  '^yskd  da  vo  'bra 

egor-^e  vo  'fiSy  vo  ko''paji\_d']'^ ! 

o'z  arm{d),  sitwa'jl!  for' me  vo  bata'jo!  20 

mar'jS,  mar' Id  1 

koe  S(X\k  ^''pyir  a'broeiv{d)  no  si' jo! 

n^'se  d  'UL 
1  [dl  is  pronounced  only  in  singing.     See  §  91. 


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